Desiring that Diviner Day
by Admiral Byzantium
Summary: Sequel to Ulysses: "The word is no. I am therefore going anyway." The final story of the Maquis.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Trek Universe, or any of the characters from it. It all belongs to Gene Rodenberry as far as I'm concerned, then whoever owns the copyright rights. I'm merely an amateur playing in it for my own amusement because there was another story that I wish had been written. I also don't own the title – it is from Alfred Tennyson's "To Victor Hugo."

Author's Note: Think of this as a preview. I highly suggest reading _Ulysses_ first, although it's not a requirement to understand this story. Please note, for the purposes of this story none of the Star Trek novels are canon and please review so I know where this stands.

**Desiring that Diviner Day**  
Admiral Byzantium

"Quoi qu'il arrive, la flame de la résistance  
française ne doit pas s'éteindre et ne s'éteindra pas."  
-Charles de Gaulle, June 18, 1940

**Prologue**

It had been six weeks since _Voyager _returned to the Alpha Quadrant after her seven-year trek on the other side of the galaxy. The crew had been making great progress in readjusting to their new surroundings, each of them trying to make their way.

Captain Janeway was now Admiral Janeway, although she had no official assignment or post. Her ship lay wrecked in the middle of South Dakota and her current unofficial occupation was to assist Federation research crews who were working to reverse-engineer components that she had brought back from the future, especially the Transwarp drive. Much of her time was spent at Utopia Planitia aboard the ship that Starfleet had slated to test the equipment – the ship that most of it had been designed for in the first place, Captain Robert DeSoto's _USS Hood. _After that assignment was finished, the Admiralty assured her they had an opening at Starfleet Academy – a post she had fully intended to accept.

Janeway's attention, however, had been spent mostly on the plight of the Maquis members of her crew. Starfleet Command had never felt entirely comfortable with the fact that _Voyager's _crew had been almost a third Maquis. More than five years prior the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians had destroyed the Maquis. Those who had survived to be incarcerated had reached the end of their prison sentences and been released for the most part, but they were still a major point of contention between different branches of Starfleet and civilian aspects of the Federation.

Starfleet Command had insisted on holding a court martial for the Maquis members of _Voyager's _crew. Janeway had argued vehemently that they had already served any sentence that might be placed upon them with their service on _Voyager, _but the Judge Advocate General's office was not swayed.

Janeway had spent much of the last three weeks in communication with various Starfleet officers, including Captain Picard – a friend of Captain Louvois, the JAG scheduled to be judge for the pending hearing, and her own former commanding officer, Admiral Owen Paris. Owen, who was quite taken with his granddaughter, Miral Kathryn, and his former-Maquis daughter-in-law, spent his own time working to convince anyone who would listen to be lenient on the Maquis.

Owen wasn't aware, but Janeway already knew what the verdict would be.

The room began to fill up. It was a relatively large, open room, with two large, raised seating areas on either side of a wide, flat floor. A podium was at one end, behind it two large banners. One had the blue and white symbol of the United Federation of Planets and the other had the Starfleet emblem emblazoned on it. Phillipa Louvois, wearing her grey and black Starfleet uniform – not unlike the one that was worn by the majority of the room, including Janeway herself – stood behind the podium.

Janeway stood in the back of the room, watching silently. The seats on the right of the room filled up with friends, family, and the media – Janeway picked out Jake Sisko sitting with Harry Kim and Tom Paris. Across from them were the Starfleet officials – Admirals Nechayev and Paris were both in attendance. Admiral Hayes would undoubtedly be coming shortly.

The crowd was growing increasingly restless. This chamber was one that was used only for formal hearings that required considerable seating coverage – Janeway knew it had been used once before to judge then-Admiral Kirk and his crew. She wasn't on trial, however – and that she thought unfair. They were _her _crew, no matter what their past records stated, and she intended to defend each and every one of them.

Janeway hadn't told anyone outside of her command staff about her relationship with Chakotay yet. _Maybe you should do something about that regret before fate decides to collect on what you owe, _she thought with a smile. Q had said those words to her as _Voyager _slammed into Earth. They had waited long enough and she needed him at her side – as she felt he had always been. Still, no one in this room knew for sure they were together, although her crew certainly suspected.

Discretion had been called for, especially with the pending hearing. Janeway hadn't been called to testify – they had simply gone through her logs – but she had to appear impartial. Nonetheless, her staying at his small apartment on the Starfleet Academy campus while she was on Earth – the same one he had occupied while teaching the Advanced Tactics course – had been a risk they were both willing to take.

Phillipa Louvois finally looked up to see the room had filled after the noise level had gone up to a dull roar. She tapped the table with her mic and the room went silent. "Will the representatives for the crew of the Maquis raider _Val Jean _please enter," she said. From the side of the room, Chakotay strode in wearing his own Starfleet uniform, provisional rank pips pinned to his collar. B'Elanna followed, wearing a grey-and-black uniform with a yellow shirt that signified her status as an engineer, then Mike Ayala wearing his own command-red Lieutenant's uniform. Finally, Ken Dalby entered. Janeway smiled a little at the scowl on his face – he really looked out of place without a phaser rifle.

Louvois looked down the line at the four members of Janeway's crew. As she looked at each, Janeway added her own appraisal. Ken Dalby was a soldier, a man who had lost and who, on _Voyager, _had found a life worth living again. Mike Ayala was a father, a leader, and a quiet, competent man who just wanted to get home. B'Elanna Torres was a magician with anything that had circuits, a woman who could turn a rock into a replicator or a toaster oven into a warp drive. She instilled confidence, even when she glared, and she always found a way to get it done. Now she was a mother, too, with a husband and a family that she shouldn't have to lose. And Janeway would see to it that she wouldn't. Finally, Chakotay was her guide, her strength, and her conscience. He was a man of peace who had known too much war, a man who only wanted to teach, to learn, and to love.

"The charges are as follows," Louvois pronounced slowly, articulating each word clearly. "One count of theft of a Federation spacecraft. Multiple counts of theft of Federation property. Three counts of assault on a Starfleet facility. Five counts of destruction of Starfleet property, including the runabout _Siene_. Multiple counts of engaging in open combat against forces both a part of and allied to the Federation, including the destruction of the Cardassian warship _Vetar_. Multiple counts of engaging in acts that resulted in the deaths of Federation allies, namely members of the crew of the Cardassian warship _Vetar, _among other ships. And one count of defection to an enemy in a time of war."

The room was quiet; the only sounds a soft rustle as people glanced from side to side. Admiral Paris looked grim while Admiral Nechaeyev leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her face. The members of _Voyager's _crew sitting in the stands all waited with bated breath. Janeway's face contorted into a slight grimace. _Here it comes._

"Due to the circumstances of this proceeding and the service performed by the Maquis crew of the _Val Jean _aboard the _USS Voyager _during her time in the Delta Quadrant, and the service that was done by that same ship in preventing the Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, all charges but one have been dropped. That charge, defection to an enemy in a time of war, is directly solely to Lieutenant Commander Chakotay. The other defendants may step back."

B'Elanna, Mike, and Dalby didn't move. They were facing away from Janeway, so she couldn't see their expressions, but she knew that Dalby's scowl had just doubled in size and B'Elanna had flashed her Klingon fangs. Ayala probably looked as stoic as ever, but she bet his face too had hardened.

"Lieutenant Commander Chakotay, for your service as the first officer of _Voyager _during the last seven years, seven years of the mandatory ten year sentence have been removed. This court hereby sentences you to three years in the New Zealand Penal Settlement, after which time your commission will be reinstated, should you wish to return to Starfleet. All other defendants will be permitted to retain their rank and position as members of the crew of the Federation starship _Voyager, _should they wish to remain in Starfleet." Louvois banged the gavel on the podium once. "This hearing is adjourned."

Captain Louvois moved to step down from the platform, but Janeway walked forward into the center of the room. She walked up to stand next to Chakotay, raising her hand to the crowd for silence. Admiral Paris had a flabbergasted look on his face, one that was mimicked by most of the crowd. B'Elanna and Dalby looked furious, and Janeway took a second to touch both of them in an attempt to settle them down.

Then she turned to Chakotay and reached up, kissing him softly on the cheek. She whispered one word in his ear before turning back to face the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen," Janeway started. "I understand and respect the decisions of this court, but I must disagree with them." She looked at Dalby and B'Elanna and spoke slowly, enunciating every word as Louvois had done earlier. "I know many of the members of my crew are watching this proceeding. To them I say do not act rashly. It is very important that you wait before deciding to resign your commissions. You must wait until I have had a chance to speak with each of you. Please."

"To Starfleet, the organization I have called my home since I first stepped foot on the Academy grounds – I say to you, I do not take the following actions in opposition to Starfleet, but I do take them in protest against a decision which I see as unfair and invalid. Chakotay has more than served the penance for his mistakes and putting him in prison for those crimes is itself a crime. I will not stand by and allow this gross miscarriage of justice happen."

She looked at B'Elanna. "I do this because it has to be done, and because there is more at stake here than anyone realizes. _Do not make your judgments now._" Finally, she turned back to Chakotay and reached up once more, kissing him so that no one in the courtroom could possibly mistake their relationship.

Janeway returned her heels to the ground, returning to her proper height. She reached up and tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Ro. Initiate transport Maquis-Alpha-One-Zero." The crowd stood quickly to their feet as Chakotay wrapped his arms protectively around Janeway and both of them dematerialized from the floor.

There was pandemonium in the courtroom.

Tom Paris and Harry Kim, waving their hands wildly, managed to get the attention of the _Voyager _crew. The Maquis slipped out the back and the members of the crew that were in attendance stood in a semicircle, surrounding their senior officers. Harry's look was one of complete disbelief. "They sentenced him to jail time and the Captain staged a _jailbreak _from the floor of the courtroom?"

Tom glanced at B'Elanna. "She was trying to tell me something," B'Elanna said loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear. "She said emphatically that we should withhold our judgments. She also said that we should not resign our commissions."

"The hell we shouldn't!" exclaimed Dalby. "They were going to throw Chakotay in jail for chrissake!" He punched his fist outwards. "There is _no way _I am going to stand for this!"

"No," Tom said. Since Tuvok was on Vulcan, he was the senior officer amongst the crew on Earth. Despite his checkered past, they trusted him, and he trusted Janeway. "No, we have to follow her instructions. I trust her and you all do too. There is something else going on here. _None _of this makes any sense." Tom looked up at the sky. "I just wish to hell that she'd told us about this little stunt beforehand. This is the kind of thing I would pull, not Captain Janeway."

* * *

Janeway and Chakotay materialized on a small transporter pad. "Is everything in order?" Janeway asked as she stepped down, slipping out of Chakotay's arms. 

At the panel in front of them, a Bajoran with dark brown hair smirked. "You put on a hell of a show. That'll _really_ leave the Admirals shaking their heads." She gestured them forwards into the cockpit and they slipped into the second chamber, the familiar surroundings of the _Delta Flyer _welcoming them.

"Sounds like you had fun. The media channels are going completely crazy," said a warm voice from the helm. "Wish I could've been there." Janeway scowled down at him, but softened at his teasing grin. The man at the operations station turned to look them over, while the final crewman didn't look up from his station at tactical, his hands flying impossibly fast over the controls.

"You know, I haven't done something this incredibly stupid since I lost my heart," Jean-Luc Picard said wryly, his command voice still present despite his lack of a uniform. "Now, let's get out of here before they send the fleet after us." Picard turned back towards the helm. "Time to go, Number One."

"Aye sir." Will Riker tapped the helm console. "Moving out of Earth orbit at full impulse until we're clear of the sensor perimeter. Course is set for the demilitarized zone. We have a starship in pursuit – it's the _Hood._"

Ro took a seat behind Picard. "As expected. They won't be able to catch us," she said. "Now you're all Maquis." Ro laughed. "Imagine that."


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_Two Weeks Earlier_

Ro Laren grabbed the rag that hung on the side of the wash bin. Hefting a large metal pot from the bin, the water dripping back down to splash in the other pots, she took the rag and ran it calmly over the sides of the pot, scrubbing away any residue.

Ro and several other Maquis members had fled here in desperation and had survived. The eighty of them that were here were, as far as they knew, the only Maquis that were left. The sky on this world burned, a constant glow that penetrated the atmosphere. It was probably the closest M-class planet to the plasma streams in the Badlands that existed anywhere – and it was just barely M-class. The light from the storms illuminated their camp, even during the darkest hours of night. The ground was scorched and dry. Their small colony of Maquis survivors was completely cut off from the outside world – the plasma streamers had protected them from the Dominion during their sweeps through the Badlands, but they also made the colony's leaders reluctant to allow anyone to leave.

The buildings that made up their small town were an ugly brown and yellow, a mismatch of local materials and what little they had brought with them. The roofs leaked and it was cold in the winter, but they were alive. The place was dismally similar to the refugee camp she had lived in when she was a child. _But we are alive, undefeated. _Ro had once told someone she respected highly that she would never be defeated, and she never had been. Their survival was enough of a victory.

Ro finished scrubbing the pot and dropped it back into the bin with a small splash. She grasped another one, working to make it clean. From the side of the building, she heard laughter – three children, two human and one Bajoran, raced past her. She stopped her work to watch as their feet pattered, sprinting towards the town hall. _Valiant souls, _Ro thought. _Too young to remember the fighting, they are happy here. When we arrived, I'm not sure I would have thought it possible. _She listened to the voices fade. _Certainly better than my childhood was._

It had been five long years since Ro and Amaros had led the survivors of Volan III to this place. The colony had been on the verge of an abyss, the Jem'Hadar closing, and the Maquis had evacuated everyone they could cram into their ships. For the first year, Ro didn't think they would survive the next one. Since then, she had stopped worrying about what could be and start concentrating on what was. Amaros had taken the role of administrator, for what good it did a refugee camp as ragged as theirs. Someday soon they would have to take the chance that the fighting was over and reach back out of the Badlands, but Amaros was reluctant to take that chance.

Ro reached into her pocket and pulled out the only item of value she had left. It was a Starfleet combadge – the same one she had worn when she first went aboard the _Enterprise_. It had the softer, circular curved background gold, instead of the harder rectangular shape that had replaced it. Taking the rag, she vigorously wiped away the grime and dirt from its lines, working until it had the same shine it had when she served on the _Enterprise._

_I'm sorry, Captain. I had to do it. I hope you understood. _When she had been young and had borne witness to her father's murder, she had sworn she would never regret anything she did in her life – that she would be strong and live a life of her own choosing. She had left the camps on Valo and joined Starfleet. She'd become a promising officer until her first regret – the mission on Garon II that had left eight of her comrades dead and her court-martialed and sentenced to the stockade.

Still, that regret was but a small one compared to her betrayal of the only man who had trusted her and given her a chance – Jean-Luc Picard. Even now, years later, she thought back upon the decisions that led her here and wished things could have been different.

Joining the Maquis had been the right thing to do, of that she was still sure. But she wished, desperately wished, that it hadn't had to be at the cost of her friendship with the staff of the _Enterprise_.

Ro fingered her combadge, planting it on her jacket for a second; letting it rest in the location it had for the few short, wonderful months she'd been _Enterprise's _helmsmen. Then she sighed and let it drop back into her pocket and resumed her washing. She went through this routine almost every day and had no reason to think it would be different today.

After Macias' death and her defection, Ro had moved steadily up the ranks. She had admitted that her original intention when joining the Maquis had been as a spy, but they got past that quickly. Kalita had taken over the cell, but she had eventually been captured and Ro had become leader. They had fought the Cardassians, tried to protect the colonies, and done a good job of it until the Dominion came.

_Eddington was an idiot, _Ro scoffed. _Goading Sisko into an open confrontation while provoking the Cardassians. The man was a good tactician, but he had no sense for how to mount a resistance movement. He drove the Cardassians right into the waiting arms of the Dominion. _Eddington had been a Starfleet officer, through and through, despite his Maquis loyalties. Worse, he'd been a Starfleet officer with a hero and persecution complex. Ro had never been a model Starfleet officer, despite Picard and Riker's best attempts to make her one, and that had worked in her favor.

Ro finished with her cleaning and stood, carrying the pots until she left them to rest on a windowsill. She waved to the woman inside – another former Maquis and Federation colonist – and started to walk down in the direction the children had gone earlier. This was part of her routine: the requisite cleaning, the walk, and the computer and security check. The colony had several Maquis vessels left intact, and although most had been scrounged for parts and left to rust Ro had insisted on maintaining at least two of them, just in case.

She ran her hand along the side of the _Gale_, feeling the old ship's tough lines. The _Gale _had been a trusted companion during those last few, desperate weeks of the Maquis struggle. She'd crammed thirty people into the five-man vessel during their final evacuation of Volan III. Ro slipped into the ship, slapping the button that brought her lights and computer back online.

Wandering from side to side, Ro wiped off some of the dusty consoles, prodding systems and checking to make sure the old ship was still spaceworthy. Finally, she settled into the helm, comfortably fitting herself to the chair. It was good to get back behind the helm of a ship – it felt comfortable, familiar, and she longed to take the _Gale _off the ground and get into space, just for a little while. _This is where I belong. Behind the helm of a starship. _She sighed heavily and went about checking the computer systems.

"Weapons, check… not that they'd do any good if the Jem'Hadar showed up…" Ro flicked a switch. "Shields, check… sort of." Ro punched the ship's ancient computer, bringing up the other systems. "Warp drive, functional as ever. Impulse looks ok. The cloaking device still works, it appears," Ro muttered as she ticked off each part of the checklist. The Klingons had provided the cloak to the Maquis, but Ro's cell had been given only a single one while Eddington's people had disappeared with the others. _I'm still bitter about that. Two or three more of them and it might have made a difference._ She knew that it wouldn't have, but she had turned being bitter about the past into something of a profession.

_Wait a second, what's this? _Ro hit the computer one last time, coming up across the last part of her system's check – the communications. The panel insisted that the ship had received a transmission in the last few hours. Ro shook her head. _That can't be right. We've had no contact with the outside world since we landed here._

Ro brought up the message and inhaled sharply. Michael Eddington's face spoke to her from the viewscreen. "This is an automated message. Volume 5, Book 4. Repeat, this is an automated message. Volume 5, Book 4." The message blinked out of existence and Ro restrained her immediate impulse to punch the message back up and watch it again, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. _Why now? What's changed?_ Shuffling through the ship's logs, she noted that it had come through on a Maquis channel, coded and everything. It was an automated message recorded by Eddington meant for other Maquis and only other Maquis.

Ro restrained a second impulse – to just punch the computer. "Idiot!" she groaned. She hoisted herself out of the cockpit and headed towards the exit, brain busy with activity. _Well, I think Amaros is going to have to let me go out and look now, _Ro thought. _If Eddington is still alive and pulling this stunt, we're all in trouble. But if he's dead and someone else triggered this, we're all in a lot more trouble._

Ro walked along the gravel dirt path that led back to the small collection of buildings that made up their camp. Stopping at the largest one, she knocked on the door, then pushed inwards to enter. Shaking off her boots, she stepped forwards. "Amaros!" she called.

She heard the soft patter of feet and sat in one of the chairs to wait for him to make his way from the back of the small house. She lifted her feet and rested them on the table, lounging. "Ro, you know how much I hate when people put their feet on my table," she heard him grouse from the next room.

"Yes," she agreed, crossing her legs on the table and reclining further. Amaros sighed, poking his head out from the next room.

"What is it, Ro?"

"We got a transmission today," Ro said simply. "Eddington. Volume 5, Book 4."

Amaros came into view, dropping heavily into the chair across from Ro. "You're serious."

"Believe me, I wish I wasn't."

Amaros ran his hands through his hair. "We haven't gotten a transmission since we came here," he said quietly. "I thought there were none of us left." He paused for a second, and then spoke thoughtfully. "Volume 5, Book 4. The suicide of Javert." Ro raised an eyebrow mockingly and Amaros sighed. "I don't know what his obsession with _Les Miserables_ was about either, Ro. But we all read it, just to understand his own personal mythology."

"I didn't."

Amaros ignored her. "That means the missile silo has been activated," he said.

Ro dropped her feet from the table and sat up. "I thought he didn't _have _a missile silo. We agreed that it was too big of an investment of resources. Don't tell me he went and built it anyway."

"I don't know, Ro." Amaros shrugged. "All I know is that's what Volume 5, Book 4 means – that the silo has been activated. I don't know if there was a silo. All I know is Eddington's code, and Volume 5, Book 4 means that the missile silo has activated."

"Whatever." Ro snorted. "Only a megalomaniac like Eddington would go and create a set of codes and procedures based around his favorite novel for a missile launcher site that he hadn't even built yet," she scoffed. "Or someone who had spent too many years in Starfleet security. Procedure, procedure, procedure."

Amaros shrugged. "His procedure also stated that it would take the codes for two cell leaders to program and launch the warheads. I can't imagine that two Maquis cell leaders other than you survived the Jem'Hadar sweep, can you?"

"No," Ro said flatly. "But I also can't take the chance that they did, or that someone else managed to take control of the missiles without the codes. I want permission to take the _Gale _out to take a look."

"Ro, we don't even know where Eddington put the silo. It could be anywhere in the Badlands and its target could be anything." Amaros glanced at her. "Do you intend to go and search the Badlands until you find it? It might not even exist!"

"But we know that the missiles _do, _with or without his precious launcher. I intend to find Eddington and hit him until he tells me what this is about," Ro huffed. "That self-important idiot," she said under her breath.

"Ro…"

"I don't know what I'm going to do, okay? I don't know. But we need to know what's going on. For all we know, this silo could exist and be malfunctioning. Or someone else might have found it. Even if there is no launcher, what if someone gets their hands on the warheads? The war is probably over by now. What if the Federation and the Dominion have stopped fighting? What if we manage to start a whole new war with these ill-timed, ill-designed antimatter warheads? Can you live with that on your conscience?"

"Ro… if Eddington did build the silo, we have no idea who could know about it or who could be controlling it. What if our contact in Starfleet has taken control of the launcher? Or the Cardassians? If you do go looking, _be careful_. I won't stop you, but remember that Eddington had friends in high places even after he defected."

"Oh sure, some Starfleet admiral has gone and stolen a bunch of antimatter missiles to shoot against someone for the sake of revenge. How likely do you think that is, Amaros?"

"How likely was Captain Maxwell stealing the _Phoenix _and blowing hell out of the Cardassian border?" Amaros grinned tightly. "Don't trust anyone."

Ro shook her head. "No. There's one person I know I can trust," she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her combadge, running her finger over the gold and silver lines. "The question is, will he trust me?"

* * *

"Welcome aboard the _Hood_, Admiral," Lisa Neeley said with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"And you, Lieutenant," Janeway agreed, stepping off the transporter pad. "How goes the salvage operation?" Even asking the question brought a slight grimace to her face. Despite her attempt to suppress it, it got through. That salvage operation wasn't an archaeological expedition, or a crashed enemy warship, but her ship. _Voyager. _The Starfleet Corps of Engineers, led by Reg Barclay, had spent the last month pouring over the wreckage of her beloved starship. It was somewhat fitting that _Voyager_ met her end here, on Earth, at the end of her journey.

Moving _Voyager _would be a risky proposition and Reg had come up with the solution – they'd salvage the components from _Voyager _that Starfleet Command wanted back and then turn the site into a museum. In the meantime, the _Hood _had spent the last few days finding those specific components.

"We've managed to salvage _Voyager's _primary computer core and the data looks like it's intact. It's been moved to San Francisco and we've got computer techs working to salvage all the ship's logs. That should be done in a few days – after that we'll work on backing up all the data." Neeley led Janeway down the corridor and into a turbolift. "The transwarp coil is already in our engine room and our staff is working to try to get it installed. We would call your engineer back to duty to help us out, but Starfleet Command decided against it for the time being."

Janeway nodded. Inside though, she was seething. Not at Neeley, but at the bureaucrats at Starfleet Command. _At least they have the good sense to claim that they're not letting B'Elanna back on active duty because she just had a child. Admitting that they're still scared of a Maquis threat would seem somewhat ridiculous, no?_

"We're working on getting the cloaking device you had installed out of the wreckage. It was damaged in the crash, but not enough to permanently damage it. And while most of the ablative armor generators on _Voyager's _hull were vaporized when the Borg cube exploded, the ones on the ship's upper hull survived. We're already analyzing them." Neeley smiled. "Now the transwarp coil is returned to the ship you borrowed it from," she said. "I still have a hard time believing that you met Captain DeSoto and me fifteen years into the future."

"Not our future, Lieutenant. That future is gone."

"I'm not complaining, ma'am. It's just a little disconcerting." Neeley led them into the _Hood's _engine room and over to where the transwarp coil was stationed near the warp core. "The engineering staff assure me that it's stable for now. The Captain wants to test it again as soon as possible – he's really anxious to get us out of spacedock. He's sick of staying in one place."

"I can't say I blame him, although I'm quite happy to be able to relax on Earth for just a little while." Janeway smiled at Neeley. "It's been seven years since I've had a real vacation."Janeway knelt down next to the transwarp coil, the _Hood's _warp core towering above them and pulsing with blue light. "Here's the problem. Your flow regulators aren't exactly attuned to the coil. It's not tapping the core cleanly and doesn't have access to enough power to open a conduit." Janeway stood up and grabbed one of the small containers with engineering tools, opening it and rifling through until she found the one she was looking for. Then she slid down to the floor and onto her back, sliding down next to the coil and running the instrument over the piece of technology. "There, that should do it."

Neeley gave her a hand up and Janeway brushed off her uniform once she was back on her feet. Then Neeley tapped on her combadge. "Neeley to Bridge, the Admiral thinks she's solved the problem with the transwarp coil. We're prepared for another test." Neeley nodded towards Janeway. "Come on, we should be on the Bridge for this."

* * *

Captain Robert DeSoto grinned as Admiral Janeway stepped onto his Bridge. "Admiral, it's good to have you aboard," he said. "I don't have a first officer at the moment – they grow up so fast these days, my last one was just given command of the _New Orleans –_ so you can have the first officer's chair." DeSoto winked. "Unless you intend to throw me out of my own."

Janeway laughed. "No, Captain, that's been your seat since I was an ensign. It's yours no matter who steps on your bridge." Janeway raised her eyebrows. "Besides, the last time I was on this Bridge you were the Admiral and I was the Captain."

DeSoto shook his head in bemusement. "I can't believe I let Starfleet Command talk me into accepting a promotion in _any _time period," he said. "Well, lets get this little experiment underway." DeSoto glanced at his helmsman. "Prepare to take us to transwarp."

"Aye."

"It's been almost a hundred years since Starfleet has tested a transwarp drive on a starship," DeSoto mused. "This time I think it's going to work." Janeway smiled and settled into the first officer's chair, crossing her legs and staring confidently at the viewscreen. "Helm, punch it!"

The _Hood's _viewscreen flashed and then the ship vanished into an open conduit, blue energy swirling around the ship as she raced through the column of light. Janeway glanced at DeSoto who was staring, enraptured, at the viewer. "Impressive, isn't it?" asked Janeway.

"You don't know the half of it, Admiral," DeSoto said, not taking his eyes from the screen. "Helm, bring us out of the conduit, nice and smooth." The helmsman tapped his console and the column of blue light and energy that surrounded the ship vanished as they exited the conduit. "Unbelievable."

Janeway patted DeSoto on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Captain. This old ship just became the fastest ship in the fleet." She grinned. "Fifty years after she was commissioned, ninety years after the first of her class entered service, and the Excelsior-class _USS Hood _is again the fastest and most powerful ship in the fleet. Maybe they'll start building these again."

DeSoto rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't count on it, although I'm very fond of the old girls myself. There's nothing quite as noble as an Excelsior at impulse." DeSoto stood and walked up to his helmsman. "Take us back to Earth, helm. At your leisure."

"Sir, we're being hailed by the _Enterprise. _Captain Picard wants to know if the new pride of the fleet wants an escort back home," Neeley said from tactical.

DeSoto laughed. "Tell Jean-Luc if he feels like holding the _Enterprise's _warp drive back enough for us to keep up at warp, he's free to provide protection should he so choose." On the viewer, the shipjumped to warp and the viewer changed to provide a picture of the _Enterprise _off their bow. DeSoto leaned over to Janeway. "The _Hood _is a picture of nobility, Admiral. Your _Voyager _was all sleekness and grace. The _Enterprise…_" he paused as the _Enterprise _spun on her x-axis slowly, giving the _Hood _a glimpse of her whole profile. DeSoto laughed. "Will Riker you cad! Stop showing off!" He turned back to Janeway, pointing at the viewscreen. "That ship is pure lethality. A hawk with a mean temper."

* * *

The _Hood _sailed sedately back into drydock above Utopia Planitia and her skeleton crew filed off of her and into the station. Through the window that faced the interior of the starbase, the _Hood's _crew got to look at the old ship from the outside. Janeway turned opposite to look through the window that gazed out into space and the ship that floated beyond – the Federation flagship, the _Enterprise._

The door to the observation lounge slid open and several members of the senior staff of the _Enterprise _strode inside. Janeway immediately recognized Captain Picard and Commander Riker. She hadn't met the captain, but she and Riker had been at the academy together.

"Jean-Luc, Will!" DeSoto was clearly comfortable with playing the host. He took a second to glare at Riker. "Will, it's not nice to show off." Riker laughed and made a gesture that said, "Who, me?" DeSoto brushed him off and turned to Janeway. "May I introduce you both to Starfleet's newest admiral, Kathryn Janeway."

Will stepped forward, grasping Janeway's proffered hand and kissing it in deference. "Admiral Janeway, it's good to see you again." Will offered a glowing smile. "After _Voyager _made contact, I kept track of your exploits in the Delta Quadrant. We're all very glad you found your way home sooner than expected."

Janeway's eyebrows rose. "Are you flirting with me, Commander?" she asked dryly. "I'm pretty sure commanders aren't supposed to flirt with admirals."

Will's grin didn't fade in the slightest. "Not at all, ma'am. Just making sure you know how much we all appreciate your return." Now his grin did fade slightly. "Besides, if I did flirt with you, Deanna would give me that disapproving look she's become so good at lately."

Janeway laughed. "I'm glad someone finally brought Will Riker back down to Earth." She offered her hand to the man he'd come in with. "Captain Picard, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Admiral," Picard acknowledged. "I'll echo Commander Riker's sentiments – we're very glad to have you back, and even gladder that you managed to prevent the Borg from mounting another invasion." Picard glanced at DeSoto, and the _Hood's _captain grabbed Riker and dragged him off to meet other members of his crew. Picard waited until they were gone. "I am very grateful to you on a personal level for stopping the Borg. My own history with them is somewhat tumultuous and I had no interest in facing them again."

"I understand." Janeway grimaced. "You probably don't know, but I was assimilated myself while in the Delta Quadrant." Picard shot her a startled look, and Janeway waved it away. "Captain, lets discuss something else. The Borg aren't an issue, at least not right now. However…" Janeway's eyes narrowed. "I've been meaning to complain to you about Q. For whatever reason, he stopped harassing you and started harassing _me._ You owe me for that."

Picard laughed. "I was wondering what had happened to Q." He glanced around the room. "But," he whispered, "I find the more you talk about Q, the more likely it is he'll appear to make your life that much more miserable." They both winced.

Janeway shrugged. "I have one other thing, Captain. A favor I need to ask." Picard turned and waited for her to continue. "You know that a good third of my crew are former members of the Maquis. The Judge Advocate General's office is insisting on holding a hearing – a court-martial really – for those members of my crew." Janeway grimaced. "It had been a long time since I had thought of them as Maquis. They became members of my crew – one, united crew – and I don't like this at all."

Picard nodded. "I understand."

Janeway smiled. "Captain, they've already assigned a judge for the court-martial, and I believe you're familiar with her. Captain Phillipia Louvois. I was wondering if you could introduce us during your stay in San Francisco." Janeway glanced at him. "I understand you and your crew are due to take leave."

Picard sighed heavily. "There's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Admiral, you understand that I can't influence her decision in the upcoming trial at all. But there's no harm in introducing you to her – after all, she knew me personally when I was court-martialed after losing the _Stargazer_." Picard frowned at the memory.

"Thank you, Captain," Janeway said. "Now, I want to get back to Earth. I was happy to come out and help the _Hood _get the transwarp drive up and running again, but I'd like to get home."

"Of course, Admiral." Picard gestured to one of the officers nearby. "This is Lieutenant Perim, one of the _Enterprise's _helm officers. She'll take you back to Earth aboard one of our shuttlecraft, if you have no objections. I'm afraid I have to stay here at the reception."

"No objections at all." Janeway extended her hand. "It was good to meet you, Jean-Luc. I hope we get further chances to work together in the future."

Picard clasped her hand with his. "As do I, Admiral. Safe journey."

* * *

"Chakotay?" Janeway called as she entered his apartment in San Francisco. It was a far cry from his quarters on _Voyager_ – most of their personal belongings were still buried in the rubble and wouldn't be retrieved for some time yet, so the place was mostly empty. She had spent a few days staying with her mother in Indiana, and then a few others with her sister, but she had eventually returned to San Francisco. _I love them both dearly, but I wonder if it wasn't good for my sanity to be separated from them for a while._

It was late – the shuttle ride had been relatively short, being just from Mars to Earth, but the transwarp test had been postponed several times due to the difficulty they had with the coil. _Chakotay is probably sleeping_.

Janeway slipped out of her uniform, noting the full cup of cold coffee that sat on one of the tables. She smiled ruefully. _Oh, Chakotay. Thanks for the thought._

She snuck into the bedroom and found Chakotay sprawled over the bed. She grinned crookedly and moved to push him over a little bit, but his eyes blinked groggily open and he grabbed her wrist lightly. "Find any peace today?" he asked sleepily.

"Not until I saw that cup of coffee on the table," Kathryn smiled. "Thanks for trying."

"Always, Kathryn. Now, come here and go to sleep. I'm exhausted. Harry and I spent all day pouring over _Voyager's _logs." Chakotay made room for her and she slipped in beside him, sighing.

"Chakotay?" she whispered. He murmured an unintelligible response. "Thank you for everything." Kathryn rested her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep. _I won't let them do this to him, _she thought as she lost consciousness. _Not when we're both so close to finding peace._


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Ro had forgotten how cramped the _Gale's _cockpit was. Even with only one person aboard the ship was far, far too small. Her back was starting to complain mightily – it had, after all, been a long time since she'd been behind the helm of a ship.

On the bright side, she'd seen no ships. No Federation starships, cruising the borders of the Badlands looking for the Maquis, or Jem'Hadar warships on a seek-and-destroy mission, and certainly never both at once shooting at each other. This struck Ro as a good thing – while there hadn't been open fighting between the Federation and Dominion yet during her cell's hasty retreat into the Badlands, she knew it had only been a matter of time. The fact that there didn't seem to be giant clashes between massive armadas told her that the fighting was over.

_Of course, it doesn't tell me who won, _Ro thought morbidly. _For all I know, the Federation is gone, Bajor is reoccupied, and the Alpha Quadrant has become yet another string puppet for the Founders._

Ro's destination was the one she was sure would tell her very quickly the events of the last five years – Bajor, the wormhole, and Deep Space Nine. The _Gale _was under cloak, just in case things had gone poorly, but she would have to drop it to dock – assuming that there wasn't a warrant still issued for her arrest even if everything _had_ gone well.

She grew more optimistic as the ship cruised into the Bajoran star system and there were still no Dominion or Cardassian ships in sight. Taking a risk, she dropped the ship's cloaking device and pointed the _Gale _towards Bajor. She had been to her home planet during the Maquis resistance, recruiting and planning attacks against Cardassian targets, but she hadn't had the chance to truly _see _her world from orbit since the last visit by the _Enterprise. _

Now she had a chance and she intended to take it. Inverting the _Gale _so that the cockpit faced downwards towards her world, she watched in fascination as Bajor grew before her eyes. The seas were a different shade than those on Earth – a less focused blue with a tinge of green. And the land was splotched with huge clumps of barren brown from where the planet had been strip-mined by the Cardassians during the Occupation. But it was home, and Ro was glad to see it again.

Refocusing her efforts, she tapped into the planetary computer system. Searching through the database, she worked to find any information about the last five years. _The war is over – the Federation won. It's been over for more than three years. _Ro sighed with relief – she had been terrified that she would find the universe a much worse place than it had been before her voluntary exile into the Badlands.

_Now, this is interesting. Bajor joined the Federation? I'll be damned. _Ro was more than a little bemused by the idea. She remembered her first mission after she'd been rescued from the stockade by Admiral Kennelly, a mission where the Cardassians had set the Admiral up in order to use the Federation to capture the Bajora resistance cell. Bajor had been scared but defiant and Ro still had trouble believing that the Cardassians had left their world at all, much less that Bajor had joined the Federation. Yet, she also remembered how determined Captain Picard had been to see the Bajorans someday recover their ancient birthright. _Still, I'd like to meet the people who made it possible. It's no small feat._

Ro lined the ship up on a course for Deep Space Nine. There was only so much she could learn from the Bajoran computer database – she needed access to a Federation computer database if she was going to find Captain Picard and the station was the most obvious choice. That was her mission – Picard was the only person in the Federation who might trust her and the only hope she had of finding out where the Federation was holding Michael Eddington. _Assuming Eddington is alive. _Ro winced as a thought she had been unconsciously repressing struck her. _Assuming Picard didn't die during the war. Prophets, I hope the Captain is still alive._

She noted a large amount of space traffic moving between the planet and the station. Transports, freighters, and all kinds of smaller craft skated back and forth. _Joining the Federation seems to have been good to Bajor. I'm glad it seems to have worked out well for everyone._

She brought up the computer and the list of fake ship IDs she had listed. Selecting one that seemed relatively innocuous, she hailed the station. _"Deep Space Nine station operations, Lieutenant Dax speaking. How may we be of assistance?"_

"This is the courier vessel…" Ro thought quickly. "_Wellington." _Ro winced. _Wellington? What, am I trying to relive the mistakes of my past? Maybe Guinan was right, maybe I do subconsciously try to punish myself. _"My vessel requires routine maintenance while I'm stopped over, Lieutenant."

"_Understood, _Wellington. _You are cleared for Landing Pad B."_

"Thank you, Ops." Ro cut the transmission and turned the vessel over to station keeping, letting the station computers guide the _Gale _safely into the Landing Pad. Her small vessel fit snugly into the pad, adjacent to a Starfleet runabout with the name _Rio Grande _written boldly across her hull. Finally, the ship shuddered to a halt as the docking clamps engaged to her hull and Ro exited her ship in search of information.

* * *

_This is going to be more difficult than I thought. _Ro groaned. She'd attempted to access the Federation database to find Captain Picard's current posting, but no luck – her old passcodes had long since been changed. Hacking the system had resulted in a near catastrophe, as station security almost caught her attempting to access the database. _Who designed this system's safeguards, anyway? _

She sat in the station bar, nursing a drink. On the colony, you ate and drank whatever happened to be available (or whatever you could get out of the old, broken down replicators), and Ro was somewhat grateful to have a selection to choose from. Of course, this place required currency payment, and money wasn't something she had in great surplus so she had to ration her tab.

The bartender kept shooting her looks that she didn't appreciate. She had spent many years perfecting her "leave me alone or you'll regret it" attitude and had faith the Ferengi wouldn't push his luck. At least, not too far.

Still, the bartender was making his way over. Small steps – two tables forward, one table back. Ro watched his progress with restrained amusement. She almost laughed as the Ferengi tripped over one of his waiters. A tray scattered a meal and a couple drinks down and across a barstool and onto the floor. "_Broik!_" the Ferengi howled. The waiter shuffled away to get something to clean up.

Ro turned her face away and let herself laugh, just a little.

When she turned back, the Ferengi was in her face and she felt a pressure on her left leg that felt uncomfortably like a hand. "I'm sorry about that little… inconvenience. My name is Quark, and I'm the owner of this fine establishment. Might I get you another drink?"

Ro stared into his eyes from less than three inches away. "If you don't remove your hand from my leg, we're both going to be spending time in sterile little rooms. I'll be in a two-by-four holding cell with a bed and a sink, and you'll be in the station's intensive care unit, missing one of your ears," she whispered. The pressure on her leg subsided.

"I think I might be falling in love with you," Quark said, grinning boldly. "What did you say your name was?"

"None of your business. Get lost," Ro growled, turning her head away.

Quark sat across from her on the table and leaned in. "What if I told you I could get you that information you were trying to access when you failed to penetrate the station's computer mainframe?" Quark asked in a voice barely over a whisper.

Ro's head shot up. "_What?_" she hissed.

"Keep your voice down!" Quark said in an excited whisper. He glanced around the room anxiously, but no one was paying them any mind. "Odo might be gone, but Kira still pays far too much attention to me than is deserved. I'm just an innocent bartender." Ro raised her eyebrow in a look that questioned the truthfulness of that statement. "Most… of the time," Quark qualified.

Ro leaned forwards in her chair, drink forgotten. "How did you know I had tried to get into the station mainframe? _Tell me, _or you _will _end up in the station infirmary and it'll be far worse than a missing ear."

"There's nothing that happens on this station that I don't know," Quark said. "I'll make you a deal." Quark flashed a toothy grin. "I'll get you into the mainframe and get the information you need. I'll even forget that you tried to get into the mainframe illegally and that this conversation ever happened. Not only that, but I'll forget that you were ever here"

"What's your price," Ro said flatly. _I hate bargaining with Ferengi. Unfortunately, he has me at a disadvantage at the moment._

"Your name," Quark said.

"First or last," Ro asked, unfazed by the odd request. "You're not getting both. And I want the information first, before you get any payment." Quark threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender, then put his arm around Ro's back. He led her towards the back – although halfway there, he lost all feeling in his hand because Ro had cut off circulation by clamping her own down on his wrist.

By the time they got to the computer interface, the Ferengi was writhing. "Okay, okay! No more with the hands. Just let me go… please?" Quark gasped. Ro released him slowly, and Quark immediately collapsed, clasping his wrist as best he could.

"The information?" Ro asked, pointing at the console.

"Give me a second, I can't use a computer without two good hands!" Quark complained. He stood and shook his hand until it began to tingle as feeling returned. Finally he sighed and pulled a small box out from under the terminal, filled with small isolinear datarods. He held them up to the light, eyeing them one by one. "What do you want to know?"

"The current assignment and location of Captain Jean-Luc Picard."

"The captain of the _Enterprise? _What would you want that for?" At Ro's stifling look, he returned to his posture of surrender. "On second thought, maybe it's better that I don't know." Quark fished a particular datarod out of his box and inserted it into the computer. The Starfleet emblem popped up onto the screen. "Just a second… here we are. That was simple enough."

Ro pushed Quark out of the way, careful not to do any permanent damage to the Ferengi. _Current posting: captain, USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-E. Current assignment: none, he's on shore leave. Last known location: Utopia Planitia Shipyards, Mars. Great, off to Earth, _Ro mused. _I wonder how I'll manage to penetrate that security network. It's not going to be easy to find him with just this to go on._

She moved off back towards the door that led back to the bar. "Thanks Quark. I owe you one," she said over her shoulder.

"Wait! What about your name?" Quark exclaimed, hustling behind her.

"Which one?"

"Um… both."

Ro turned to face the barkeep. She smiled a tight, lethal smile. "If I told you that, I think I'd have to kill you, Quark," she said. Then she turned her back and strode out of the bar.

"I was wrong," Quark said, breathing heavily. He watched her back sway until she was no longer in sight, and then turned back to his computer, wiping his brow. "I don't think I'm falling in love. I _know_ I am."

* * *

_Time to go,_ Ro thought as she strode down the Promenade. She slowed as there was a crowd between her and the docking hatch that led to the habitat ring and the landing pad. _What's going on?_ She pushed her way into the crowd, listening for any useful information. 

"The Emissary's son will be on soon!"

"Well, I don't worship the Emissary," Ro heard a human Starfleet ensign say to his companion. "But Captain Sisko's son makes a fine reporter, and the last few days had potential to be a big ones in the history of space exploration. Maybe we'll even hear some more news about _Voyager, _it's been a month since their return from the Delta Quadrant."

Ro was intrigued. She stopped pushing her way through the crowd of people and took up a position where she could see a monitor clearly and waited along with the rest of the people. After about ten seconds, it flashed and came to life, the letters "FNS" scrolling across the screen. She raised her eyebrows as a relatively young man appeared on the screen.

"This is the Federation News Service, reporting from Utopia Planitia Shipyards on Mars. My name is Jake Sisko." In a gesture that struck Ro as somewhat odd, Jake grinned widely into the camera. "I have great news for Federation members everywhere," he announced. "Two days ago at 2100 hours, San Francisco Standard, the Federation starship _Hood _under the command of Robert DeSoto and the supervision of Admiral Janeway made the first controlled transwarp flight of a Federation starship since _Voyager _returned from the Delta Quadrant. This signifies…" The rest of Jake's statement was lost as the crowd of people around began clapping.

Ro glanced from side to side. There were no Bajoran militia uniforms, but a great deal of the Bajorans here wore Starfleet uniforms alongside their alien counterparts. Everyone seemed enthused by this news. Eventually, the racket calmed as she could hear Jake speak again. He was joined on the screen by a face she remembered very well.

"Commander Riker, I understand you and the _Enterprise _played the role of lifeguard for the _Hood._" Ro watched in some astonishment as Will grinned into the camera. _He doesn't look like he's aged a day. Incredible. But why doesn't he have his own ship yet?_

"The _Enterprise _waited for the _Hood _to come out of transwarp and escorted her back to Earth after the flight. We all knew that the transwarp drive would function eventually – _Voyager _proved that during her mad chase after the Borg – but it means a lot to get it running on a starship other than _Voyager._ With the information gathered from the recent tests we'll be able to start equipping other vessels with transwarp coils. The _Hood _will be the only ship in the fleet that's transwarp capable for a while, probably a couple of months, but it won't be long before the entire Starfleet increases its rate of travel exponentially."

Jake grinned at Riker. "Thank you, Commander. I understand the _Enterprise _crew is going on leave. What are your plans?"

Riker laughed. "You can't ask me that question, Mr. Sisko. But, I'm probably going to spend some time in San Francisco and then relax for a while at the home I maintain in the town I was born." Riker winked at Jake. "I'm not saying where that is over the FNS, Mr. Sisko."

Jake dismissed Riker, but Ro leaned back with a small smile on her face. _Alaska. Will is going to Alaska. Maybe I don't need to find Captain Picard after all. _She perked back up as Jake went through a couple other pieces of news information, although there was nothing she found especially interesting. "To close, Starfleet's Judge Advocate General's office has set a date for the final decision about the Maquis members of _Voyager's _crew who arrived back in the Alpha Quadrant with the Intrepid-class starship last month. The hearing will be held in San Francisco ten days from now. I will be attending with several members of _Voyager's _Starfleet crew, some of whom I spoke to in the last few days."

Ro's eyes widened in shock. _Maquis survivors aboard a ship lost in the Delta Quadrant? How could that have happened? _She watched with bated breath, waiting for specific names. She didn't recognize any of the crewmen who spoke, but the last person Sisko interviewed gave her the information she needed.

Harry Kim grimaced into the camera. "It's not fair to Commander Chakotay," he said. "It's not fair to any of them, but especially not to him. He gave all he had for her for seven years and there was never a chance that he would betray the Captain. None of us would."

_Commander Chakotay? _Ro thought in shock. _The same Lieutenant Commander Chakotay who taught my Advanced Tactics course during my additional training before I defected and who captained a Maquis raider before his disappearance seven years ago? Most importantly, a former Maquis cell leader who would have the command codes that could be used to help me control Eddington's missiles?_

Ro kicked herself into motion, moving back towards the landing pad where she'd docked the _Gale_. Her mind buzzed with activity. _There are two possibilities. Either he's one of the people responsible for the activation of the silo – which seems unlikely, since he disappeared before we even considered it's construction, hell, before Eddington even took over the Maquis – or I have an ally who might be able to help me stop those missiles before something really terrible happens to ruin the good mood around here._

* * *

The Paris residence was far larger than Owen Paris required. There was more than enough room for its three new occupants – Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres, and Miral Kathryn Paris. A large house on the Pacific coast, overlooking San Francisco Bay, Tom had always admired the view, even as a child. His return to this house was unanticipated, to say the least. Many times during his youth he had walked away from it, swearing he would never return. The last time had ended with him storming off to join the Maquis. 

Down the hall he could hear B'Elanna preparing to put Miral to sleep. This was not the life he expected to have, and it was not a life he ever dreamed of having. He had a wife, a child, a respected position in Starfleet, and a relationship with his father that was… amicable.

Tom ambled heavily down the stairs, dropping into a cushioned couch that looked through the window overlooking the bay. He watched the waves come in and out. _Home. I've finally come home._

"Tom?" B'Elanna called, her footfalls lighter than his on the stairs as she descended to join him.

"The couch, B'Ela," he called back. His wife slipped over the side and next to him. "You asked me where home was, on _Voyager _when we were just getting into that last grand adventure," Tom said, resting his hand on hers. "I think we've found it. I hope we have."

B'Elanna exhaled roughly. "I could stay here, Tom. Be happy here. Although, who knows – maybe you and Miral will be visiting me and the rest of the Maquis in New Zealand."

Tom clenched his fingers around hers. "Captain Janeway won't let that happen. Excuse me, _Admiral _Janeway. Don't worry." B'Elanna rested back against the couch, closing her eyes. "Miral wore you out today, huh," Tom said with a grin. "Sorry I wasn't around for most of the afternoon – a bunch of _Voyager's _crew are getting together to go over and sort through the ship's logs. There's seven years of reports, most of which Starfleet has never seen. Someone's got to do it."

B'Elanna sat up. "I'll go hang out with Chakotay and Harry tomorrow, then. You stay home with Miral." She smiled sweetly, although he could read the sarcasm in her eyes. "After all, someone's got to do it."

Tom grinned. "I'd love to." He wrapped his arm around B'Elanna, but just as he was finally getting comfortable the door chimed. Tom sighed. "Did Dad forget his locking code again?" he groaned. Moving smoothly, he swung his legs up over the side of the couch and heaved himself down to the wood floor, then walked over to the front door, B'Elanna looking behind him. Slipping on the floor, he nearly fell to the ground but caught himself on the way down. He sent a scowl behind him at B'Elanna's burst of laughter and tapped the button on the side of the door, which slid open.

"Hi Tom. Is your father around?"

"Captain… I mean Admiral! Come in, B'Elanna and I were just talking about you," Tom grinned and used his arm to usher Admiral Janeway into the house. "I'm afraid Admiral Paris isn't available at the moment. He's not home yet – another late night at the office, I'm afraid. Some things never change." He led Janeway over towards the couch. "Come on, join B'Elanna and me. Miral is sleeping, although I'm sure she'd be thrilled to see you if she were awake."

Tom returned to his place next to B'Elanna while Janeway sat in a chair that was angled towards both the couch and the window, crossing her legs. "How are you two?" Janeway asked with a smile.

"Tired," B'Elanna quipped. "Miral is almost as exhausting as keeping _Voyager's _warp engine working at optimum efficiency for seven years without a full overhaul."

Tom laughed. "And I haven't been around to help out much. Chakotay and Harry are leading a team to go through _Voyager's _logs and create a concise report for Starfleet Command – although how you create a concise report of the last seven years, I don't know." Tom grinned. "I will say this – it's nice to be near a food replicator that doesn't have a ration limit. I still berate myself for ordering expensive meals."

Janeway smiled. "I know the feeling. Being able to have my daily coffee regimen without having to worry about not having enough rations to pay for dinner is incredibly refreshing."

Tom sat up. "Why are you here, ma'am?"

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "What Lieutenant, am I not allowed to come and stop by to see my beautiful namesake during the evening hours?"

"Of course you can, Admiral. But that's not why you're here," Tom countered.

Janeway sighed. "An unfortunate truth. I'm here to talk to your father about the upcoming Maquis hearing. I've been busy on the transwarp project and haven't seen him much." She shrugged. "I hear all kinds of things but I'm not exactly in the information loop just yet. Not only have I been gone for seven years, but I'm also a new admiral. The old admirals don't know if they like me yet and the captains aren't sure if they can trust me." She shook her head. "I know how they feel. I don't trust the admiralty either."

B'Elanna's hand clenched into a fist. "It's not fair that they're doing this to us now, after so many years out there doing our best to become a team." Janeway just nodded her assent.

They all turned as they heard the front door close. "Tom, why is this door open?" someone called from the front. Tom sighed heavily.

"Admiral Janeway's here, Dad," he called back. He muttered something to B'Elanna that Janeway couldn't quite hear, although B'Elanna found it amusing. Janeway stood and moved out to greet Owen.

"You two go spend time with Miral," Janeway whispered on her way past. "Don't worry, I don't intend to let anything happen to _any _members of my crew." Tom and B'Elanna shared a glance and then, as had become their habit over the last seven years, followed their captain's orders. Both vanished up the stairwell as Owen shucked off his Admiral's jacket.

"Katie, how are you?" he asked with a big grin. Janeway embraced him, flashing a smile of her own and Owen led the two of them back to the chairs. Janeway resumed her previous chair and Owen occupied the seat across from her. "It's an amazing view, isn't it," Owen said, gazing out into the bay. "I've lived here ever since I was promoted to Admiral, when I was home on Earth of course, but I've never gotten tired of it."

They both watched the waves in silence for a few seconds, but then Owen sighed and turned his attention back to Janeway. "I know why you're here, Admiral," he said. "I'm not sure I have any answers for you yet."

"What do you know, Owen?"

"That the San Francisco JAG office is insistent on prosecuting – they really have no choice, they set the precedent with all the Maquis trials they held years ago – but I think you don't have to worry. If what I hear is right, your crew should get the same punishments the other Maquis members got during the trials five or so years ago – nothing longer than five years for anyone but high ranking defectors. That would be cancelled out by their service under you."

"And Chakotay?" Janeway asked quietly.

"The precedent was ten years for an active defector, coupled with a dishonorable discharge from Starfleet." Janeway moved forward, preparing for a fight, but Owen held out his hand to stop her. "But, Katie, I think Chakotay is going to end up with less than that due to his service to the Federation. I'll be surprised – shocked – if he's sentenced to any jail time. Moreover, I'm positive that he'll be allowed to retain his commission." Owen smiled. "He's too good of an officer to lose him again."

Janeway shook her head in disgust. "It's not fair, Owen. Whatever they did as Maquis, they more than repaid their debts to society on my ship. I daresay they paid them over and over again out in the Delta Quadrant, fighting the Borg, 8472, putting up with Q, and whatever else. I don't even remember it all anymore." She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs again, staring out into the window. "We almost certainly saved all this at least twice," she said, gesturing out at the calm waters.

"I know, Katie. I'm working on the inside. I don't want to see my granddaughter's mother spending time in a penal colony for crimes that – in all honesty, looking back – she was probably justified in committing. Starfleet officers, for the most part, no longer remember the Maquis as renegades or traitors, but as people who went out and sacrificed everything they had to protect people who couldn't protect themselves." Owen stopped, then sighed. "Enough good people died during the war. Starfleet officers, Maquis, Klingons, Romulans, even Cardassians. The Dominion did a lot of damage out here. I hope the JAG office doesn't cause any more."

"As do I, Owen," Janeway agreed.

"I really do think it's nothing to worry about, Katie. Admiral Nechayev is still pretty bitter about the whole affair, seeing as she was the one responsible for maintaining the peace in the demilitarized zone. But she's been pretty quiet on the issue." Owen shrugged. "I'm doing my best to make sure it is just a formality." He stood. "I'm going to go make some tea to help me get some sleep. I need to be up early tomorrow and back at headquarters, banging on doors to make people listen. Feel free to stay the night, if you wish."

"No, Admiral. I've got to get home." Janeway stood. "Thanks for everything you're doing, Owen. My crew and I owe you."

"Katie, everyone in the Federation owes _you._ We won't forget that." Owen walked over to the replicator as Janeway straightened out her uniform. "Where are you staying anyway?" Owen asked.

Janeway looked up, eyes darting to Owen, who was still facing the other direction. "San Francisco, near the Academy," she responded. "If you need me, just com me," she said, tapping her combadge. "I'll see you tomorrow at headquarters, if I'm not working with DeSoto on the _Hood. _Give Miral a kiss for me." Janeway slipped back out the door, making sure to close it behind her.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Whenever Riker spoke of his home, he had always made it sound like a giant, frozen wasteland of horrors – a land where, as the cliché went, you had to walk uphill both ways and it was always terrifyingly cold. Having never been to Alaska, Ro had no way to judge Riker's stories, although she had always highly suspected that the place wasn't nearly as bad as he made it out to be.

Maybe it was because it was the middle of summer in Alaska, but Ro found the place rather temperate and really not all that bad. Of course, unlike Riker, she wasn't here on vacation and, other than being a curiosity and a piece of information she could use to bait Riker later, the weather wasn't on her list of concerns.

Getting through Earth's security hadn't been quite as hard as she anticipated. The _Gale's _cloaking device wasn't nearly good enough to fool the security perimeter that protected the star system, but her fake ID transponders had managed to get her into Earth orbit, posing as one of the system's scout fighters. Anyone who got close enough to look at the _Gale _would know immediately that the ship wasn't what her ID code said she was, but no one had bothered to look.

Once she was past the system's sensor perimeter, she'd snuck the ship into a polar orbit, and then placed it in a very low orbit directly over the planet's magnetic pole. The interference created by the pole would disrupt the planet's sensor grid enough to allow her outdated cloaking device to shield the _Gale _from Starfleet, she hoped. _Chakotay taught me that trick, _Ro thought, _back in Advanced Tactics. It's served me well in the last few years._

Finding the Riker residence had been another matter of relative simplicity – she simply accessed the planetary directory and asked what his address was. The computer had been reluctant to tell her what she wanted to know at first – it was apparently programmed not to divulge the addresses of Starfleet officers to the general population – but it also wasn't as well protected as Deep Space Nine's computer system had been. Hacking it had been a simple matter.

So, ten days after receiving Eddington's message, Ro Laren had returned to the universe from the refugee colony deep in the Badlands after more than five years in exile, visited Deep Space Nine, and infiltrated Earth, so far without anyone having realized she was back. All that had led her here, to a short pathway that led to a good-sized house looking out over the water a few miles from Anchorage.

_Time to come back to life, Laren, _she thought. The last time she had seen Will Riker, she had been pointing a phaser at him and in the process of defecting to the Maquis. Feeling her belt, she was reassured to know that she still had a phaser, just in case Will wasn't happy to see her. Then she trudged across the ground towards the front door.

* * *

"Will?" Deanna Troi poked her head around a doorway. She's awakened to find him missing from bed, sheets strewn around on his side. Shaking her head in bemusement – from downstairs she felt feelings of vague amusement and apprehension – she slipped on something appropriate and headed down the hall towards the stairway. As she got closer to the top of the stairs, she could smell food and hear sounds of someone at work in the kitchen.

Will was a marvelous cook and he delighted in surprising her. They'd been here on vacation only a few days – both of them had things they needed to finish up in San Francisco before they could disappear for the duration of their leave. Their last night in the city they'd had dinner with Reg Barclay who had been so enthusiastic about the events of the last few weeks – _Voyager's _return, the transwarp experiments, the aborted Borg invasion, and the pending Maquis trial. Reg was right, it had been a very busy few weeks.

Walking as lightly as she could, she tiptoed through the living space towards the light that came from the kitchen, trying to remain unseen and unheard. As she slipped through the doorway, she heard a groan and sighed herself, meeting the eyes of Riker. She shrugged, coming over to give him a kiss.

"You woke up!" Riker complained after she released him. "Why do you always wake up when I try to surprise you with breakfast?"

"I don't know," Deanna said with a smile. "It probably has to do with the fact that whenever you try to do something like this, you absolutely broadcast feelings of amusement and apprehension. You don't want to get caught and you're giddy about the whole event." She shook her head teasingly. "You should try to control yourself more."

Riker dropped the cooking materials in his hands onto the counter and wrapped his arms around Deanna. "But I wouldn't be me if I did that," he said, burrowing his head into her shoulder. She laughed, silently agreeing with him.

When he released her and went back to his cooking, she raised an eyebrow and leaned against the counter. "You know, I heard from several people who were at the reception for the _Hood _after the transwarp test that you were flirting with Admiral Janeway," she said. She shook her head, giving his back a disapproving look.

"I was not!" Riker exclaimed. He turned to glance at Deanna, and then shrugged. "All right, maybe I was. For old times sake – Janeway and I knew each other at the academy."

"Another old girlfriend, Will?" Deanna asked sternly.

"Not exactly. She turned me down." Riker shrugged again. Both of them stopped as the door chimed. Riker rolled his eyes and turned to Deanna. "I knew giving that interview to Sisko was a mistake. We'll probably have people banging on the door all vacation long. Maybe we should have gone to Risa after all."

Deanna stared in the direction of the doorway, and reached over to rest her hand on Riker's shoulder. "Will… I'm getting feelings of intense apprehension, bordering on fear. Whoever is at the door is so nervous about knocking, they're getting angry to compensate for their anxiety."

Riker's face changed to a more serious composure, putting down what he was holding and shucking off a cooking mitt. Reaching up to a cabinet that was high up near the door, he opened it up and removed a phaser, tapping on it's controls to make sure it was set to stun, then hooked it into his belt, being sure to cover it with his shirt. Then both of them made their way over to the entrance.

Deanna stepped away from him, moving to press the door control. It slid open, and Riker's eyes widened in utter shock. Deanna, feeling his emotions spike, moved beside him to see who their visitor was.

"Hi Commander. Counselor." Ro Laren looked acutely uncomfortable, one hand behind her back, the other resting near her waist. Her face contorted into a grimace, then changed back to a slightly embarrassed and worried look. "Um… do you mind if I come in? I need your help."

"You have a lot of nerve, Ro," Riker said with a severe glare. "We take you in, make you one of our own, accept you, and what do you do? Run off to the Maquis, saying it was somewhere you 'felt you belonged.' Now you come back asking for help? I should probably go call security." Deanna rested a calming hand on Riker's arm and he turned his back and stormed into the house.

"Come in, Ro," she said. "Sit down, tell us why and how you're here."

"I…" Ro looked sadly after Riker, who was pacing menacingly in the space between the living room and the kitchen. She sighed and turned back to Deanna. "Some of the Maquis survived in the Badlands, Counselor. There aren't very many of us left. I'm here because a little over a week ago I got an automated communiqué that said a Maquis missile silo had been activated."

Riker was breathing a little steadier now and returned to the conversation, taking a seat next to Deanna. "What kind of missile silo, Ro?" Deanna asked.

"Before Cardassia joined the Dominion, the Maquis were supplied with a large quantity of antimatter warheads. The head of the Maquis at the time was a man named Eddington, who advocated the construction of a launcher for those warheads which would allow us to strike targets as far away as Cardassia. As far as I knew, the launcher was never constructed."

"But you just said you received a message that said the launcher had been activated. How can you have a launcher that doesn't exist send out an activation confirmation?" Riker asked.

"That's why I'm here. I need Captain Picard's help to track down Eddington – the last we heard of him, he was in Starfleet custody," Ro said. She turned to Riker. "I'm here, Will, because I don't know what that message means. I know the missiles existed because I saw them myself. But as far as I know, there _is no launcher. _But I couldn't take the chance that there was a launcher and that someone is going to use it to start another war. Or even that, whether or not there's a launcher at all, that someone found the warheads themselves."

Ro looked away. "You're right, Commander. I let the _Enterprise _crew down and I'm willing to go to prison when this is all over, if that's what the sentence is for my defection. But the Maquis are all _dead, _Will. We _all died. _I won't have anyone else paying for our mistakes." She turned back. "And… there's a small colony of survivors, Maquis from various cells and colonists from Volan III. We've lived hand to mouth for the last five years but I fear they won't survive forever. I don't want them to die too."

Deanna stood. "She's telling the truth, Will."

"I know. I don't need you to tell me that. I can read it on her face," Riker responded. "All right, Ro. I'll trust you because, despite everything, you've never once lied to me. And because I want to believe you."

Ro smiled. "Thank you, Commander. Counselor." Her face contorted slightly, a sad look creasing her brow. "I'm sorry I let you down. All those years I spent wandering from post to post, trying to find somewhere I belonged… the Maquis taught me one thing. It wasn't the places that were wrong. It was me, all along." Deanna stood and sat next to Ro, placing an arm around her shoulders.

Riker grabbed a portable computer interface and planted in on the table. "All right, we'll make a formal inquiry and find out what happened to this Eddington. Then we'll contact Starfleet Command and appraise them of the situation."

"No!" Ro started. "You can't." Riker's face took on a new level of skepticism, and Ro sighed and explained. "The warheads that we had… we didn't buy them on the black market or steal them, like we did most of our equipment. They were given to us by a contact inside of Starfleet. A high level official, at least a Rear Admiral." Riker's eyes narrowed, but this time Ro met his gaze with some of her old fire. "I know what you're going to say, Commander, but I don't know who it was. And yes, I'm _sure _they were Starfleet ammunition. They still had the damn emblem emblazoned on the casing." Ro stood and started pacing across the room. "You understand the problem, now. Why I came to you, of all people, out of the blue and discreetly like this. The only people who knew we had those warheads were the Maquis and a high ranking Starfleet official and as far as I know there are no Maquis left."

"You think someone in Starfleet is planning on using the warheads?" Deanna asked.

"_Someone_ is, and there are no Maquis left other than me that had both the proper access codes and knowledge of the warheads. If it _is _someone in Starfleet, starting a search of their database would tip them off that we know about the warheads."

"For what purpose?" Riker asked.

"I _don't know," _Ro hurled. "That's why I need your help. I need to stop those missiles and to stop them I need to know _where they are_. The only person who might have the answer to that question is Eddington." She sat down next to Deanna again. "I can't find Eddington without the help of someone in Starfleet. And there's no one I know I can trust but…"

"But us," Deanna finished. "All right, Ro. We'll call Jean-Luc and get him out here. He'll have some idea of what to do." She turned to Riker. "Will, go call the Captain. Tell him you have something you want him to see." She paused, glancing at Ro. "Better yet, lets have a senior-staff poker night out here."

Riker took a long look at Deanna, and then he walked over to place a hand on Ro's shoulder. "We thought you were dead with the rest of the Maquis, Laren," he said quietly. "We mourned you. No matter what has happened, I'm glad you're alive."

* * *

_A poker game? We play poker all the time on the _Enterprise, _and Riker and Troi go out and invite everyone together for a game at his place in Alaska? _Captain Picard was a bit bemused by the idea. It wasn't entirely farfetched – they all did enjoy the weekly games, but Troi's absolute insistence that it had to be tonight suggested to Picard that there was something else going on.

He had arrived via transporter and pressed the buzzer to the Riker residence. Deanna opened the door. "Hello Captain, come in. There's someone here who wants to see you."

"Yes, Counselor, that's all well and good but I'd like to know why…" Picard's voice trailed off as Ro stepped tentatively into view. "_Ro?_" Picard gasped. "I thought you were _dead!_ How… why…?"

Ro stepped forwards toward him, and he could see sorrow – and shame – on her face. "I'm sorry sir, I let you down – I said I could do it sir, and when I said I would I _meant _it but then Macias was killed and I just couldn't do it and ran away to join the enemy and betrayed the only people who had ever trusted me and…" Picard caught Deanna's eye over Ro's shoulder. Her look told him that Ro was just a few steps away from a breakdown. He stepped forwards and gathered his former protégé into his arms. She collapsed against him, tearful.

"It's ok, Laren. I put you in that situation, I knew you were having doubts and second-guessing yourself and the mission, but I kept you there because I wanted so badly for you to regain the prestige you deserved in Starfleet. It was my fault as much as it was yours." He released her and saw that she was breathing more normally, despite the streaks down her face.

Ro wiped her face. "Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me. All I ever wanted was to prove to you I had been worth your trust and… I failed." Ro reached into her pocket, pulling out her old Starfleet combadge. "This is yours, sir."

She dropped it into Picard's hand. He lifted it up, rubbing the gold circle in a small pattern with his thumb. Then he reached out and pinned it on Ro's chest. "It's yours, Lieutenant. It always has been." He took a seat in one of Riker's chairs and Ro sat quietly across from him. "Now, why don't you tell me what this is all about?"

* * *

The senior staff of the _Enterprise _was gathered around the poker table, although there were no cards or chips in sight. Picard and Crusher took up one side, Data and Geordi another, Riker and Deanna the third, and Ro sat alone. "That's all I know," Ro finished her briefing. She took a second to look at each of them. "Thank you for trusting me," she said softly. "I'm not sure I would if I were in your shoes."

"Ro, no one can ever tell you that you didn't do what you thought was right," Beverly Crusher said reassuringly. "The question is, what do we do now? We can't trust Starfleet Command because it might be someone in the Admiral's office we're trying to stop. Then again, it might not, we don't know."

Ro nodded. "Data, can you find out what happened to Eddington?" Ro asked. "I searched through the prison records to try to find him but there was nothing I could access. And it'd be best if you did your searching covertly, without letting anyone at Starfleet know it was being done."

Data nodded. "Of course. This will take few seconds." Data's eyes blurred from side to side as he dove into the data he had at his fingertips, careful not to set off any security protocols. A few seconds later, he snapped out of it. "Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington was apprehended by Captain Benjamin Sisko and the _Defiant _on Stardate 50485.2. Later that year he was released into the custody of Captain Sisko in order to prevent a Maquis missile strike against Cardassia from a secret facility in the Badlands. The missile launch turned out to be a ruse – there was no launch site on the planet Eddington led Sisko to, Athos IV. Instead, the planet was a Maquis fallback point with a small number of Maquis survivors, including Eddington's wife, Rebecca Sullivan. Eddington was killed by the Jem'Hadar during their escape."

"A launch site for long range missiles?" Picard said. "That sounds awfully familiar."

Ro nodded. "That was a fallback ploy, in the event everything went wrong. Eddington developed it after we decided not to construct the launcher. That story had just enough truth to be believed, but Athos IV wasn't going to be the actual launch site." She rested her clenched fist on the table. "Eddington is dead, then. But we _do _have a lead – Rebecca Sullivan might know where the actual site is. I don't think Eddington knew anything his wife didn't know." She winced. "Of course, all this is assuming there is a launch site."

"Something the message you received certainly seems to indicate," Picard said.

"Yeah, but didn't you say that in order to deactivate the warheads you need two sets of Maquis cell leader codes?" Geordi asked. "You only have yours, and with Eddington dead the other set is gone. We need a second set of codes if we want to stop these things."

Deanna was softly running her finger over her upper lip. Both she and Ro moved to speak, but Ro allowed her to go first. "_Voyager _just came back to the Delta Quadrant and I've done a decent amount of work with their crew over the last few years, especially with their EMH. The ship's first officer is a former Maquis captain, Chakotay."

Ro nodded. "That's right. I learned that myself from a media broadcast when I was stopped over at DS9. Chakotay would have the codes we need." She glanced at Picard. "He was also one of the teachers of the Advanced Tactics course I took at the Academy during my time away from the _Enterprise _before I joined the Maquis."

"Really? I remember you mentioning that a professor of yours had defected. Interesting." Picard shrugged. "Well, it seems obvious that we need to bring Commander Chakotay into all this, since his help is going to be crucial." He paused. "But that could be difficult, seeing as he's currently awaiting court-martial. He can't just disappear."

"Jean-Luc, he's not under lock and key in the interim," Crusher said. Picard glanced at her and she smiled sheepishly at him. "I keep myself appraised of the news pretty regularly. The Maquis crewmen from _Voyager _are free to do as they wish until the hearing, so long as they don't leave the planet."

"Hmm." Picard pondered this for a second. "Number One, you and Ro go and get Commander Chakotay and bring him here. In the meantime, we'll start trying to figure out a way how we can disappear with the materiel we need without making it obvious to Starfleet Command where we're going and why, just in case our enemy is higher up in the command structure than we are. We can't afford to take any chances with this, too many lives are at risk if those warheads fall into the wrong hands."

"Aye sir." Riker stood. "Do we go in and tell him the truth and the whole truth?"

"No," Ro said forcefully. "I don't think it's a complete coincidence that Chakotay has reappeared so close to the missile launcher confirmation being sent out. I don't think he's responsible, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's being watched." She shrugged. "Want to do it the Maquis way?"

"And what, dare I ask, would the Maquis way be?" Riker asked.

Ro grinned. "We kidnap him. Grab him as quietly as possible and drag him out here without anyone realizing he's gone, then return him before the night is over. That way we can make all the explanations here and not worry about him panicking before he understands the big picture. Beam right into his house, stun him, and beam out. If Data masks the transporter signatures it should work just fine."

Data furrowed his brow, and then he nodded agreeably. "It is possible to deceive the planetary sensor grid in such a manner." Picard glanced at him and Ro and then nodded his reluctant agreement.

"Make it so."

"Great," Geordi groaned. "Another charge for our court-martial."

* * *

Janeway smiled at the viewscreen. "I'm really happy to hear that, Doctor. I'm glad you and Dr. Zimmerman are getting along. How's Seven?"

"She's well. In perfect health, if I do say so myself. I think she's going to come back to Earth to attend the Maquis court-martial – I'm going to be there myself for sure," the Doctor said. In the background Janeway could hear the sounds of a racket and a voice that sounded all too familiar to the Doctor's – it had to be Dr. Zimmerman.

"That would be great, Doctor. I'm sure Chakotay and the others would be pleased to have your support. I know you've been asking after Miral and I saw her a few days ago. She's an absolutely beautiful and perfectly healthy baby," Janeway grinned. "Tom and B'Elanna did good work and I can't understate how highly they think of you."

"Thank you, Admiral. Now, one last thing – I understand you're planning on getting in touch with the JAG in San Francisco, Captain Louvois?" The Doctor had suddenly lost all the levity that had been present in their previous conversation. Janeway's own face took on a stone-like quality in response.

"Yes. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Just make sure that she knows that I've once again applied for a hearing date to determine my legal status. They've been constantly postponing, canceling, or ignoring my requests. They're doing whatever they can to avoid having to make a ruling to determine whether or not I have rights. It's probably got something to do with the fact that if they rule in my favor, it sets a precedent that could cause major problems in the future, but if they rule against me they risk upsetting the larger public which has turned my holonovel into something of a cult. Apparently there's something fascinating about a holographic novel that is itself about a hologram. Supposedly makes it seem more 'real'."

"Hmm. All right, I'll do what I can, Doctor. Tell Seven I said hello and to take care."

"Thank you again, Admiral. Good night." The screen went dark and Janeway closed down her own terminal. She sighed and rested her back against the chair at the desk she'd adopted when she moved into Chakotay's apartment. _The poor Doctor. The JAG office is causing everyone from my crew grief at the moment. Eventually they'll have to make a ruling about him, but they could hold up the proceedings for months, years even. By the time they do get around to making the ruling, public opinion about him could have changed. It's not fair, but I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it at the moment._

Janeway hung her head, massaging her temples with her fingers. "Had a long day?" she heard from behind her. Dropping her hands back to her lap and sitting up, she smiled.

"Admiral Nechayev and I are getting to the point where we're not even willing to speak with one another. She's more or less admitted that the Maquis were right all along, but she's absolutely refused to speak up in our favor. I think she'd actually like it if you got sent away for a couple years, although I can't imagine why she would care." Janeway groaned. "And the JAG office is doing its best to kill the Doctor's hope of attaining the same civil liberties all of us deserve. I'm sick of that office. When I finally do meet Captain Louvois, who is apparently a reasonable woman, I'm afraid I might defeat my own case by strangling her."

"I see," Chakotay said. She could feel him smile and he brushed her hair aside, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Kathryn. You've been fighting and running around trying to do everything and help everyone ever since we got back. The only rest you had was those few hours we had after the crash." His hands molded themselves to her shoulders, working days worth of knots out of the muscles in her back.

She sighed and let herself be carried away by his touch. "Have I told you recently how much I depend on you to keep me sane?" she murmured. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here to come home to."

Chakotay laughed. "I love you too, Kathryn." He felt her suddenly tense under his hands. "What?"

_I've never said the words. Not once since we started this. I've never actually said the words. _Janeway thought of the story she'd told him. For all the words of need and trust and strength, she'd never said love. She stood up and pushed out of the chair, his hands still resting on her shoulders. As she turned to face him, they dropped away. For a handful of seconds their eyes met and she saw understanding and trust – the same understanding and trust that he'd given her since the day they'd met, despite the fact that they were enemies. "I'm sorry I never told you, Chakotay," she whispered. "I guess I thought I had." Twining her arms around his neck, she pushed up onto her toes to make them a little more even in height and kissed him. When they separated, she whispered, "I do love you, you know."

Chakotay smiled. "I know. I didn't need the words." He pulled her against him and they embraced again, her heart pounding in her chest, drowning out all the other sound and worries of their busy and chaotic lives. For an instant, she forgot the upcoming hearings, the Maquis, _Voyager, _the past seven years, and let herself relax.

Oddly, included in the moment that should include only Chakotay and the peace that being with him involved was the soft whine of a transporter beam. At first Janeway thought she was imagining it – but then, why would she be imagining it at that moment? Glancing up at Chakotay she knew that he heard it too. "What is that?" she asked. He released her and she turned towards the door – only to see a man and a woman, both holding phasers. Her brain slowed to a crawl. "Commander Riker?" she asked dumbly. "What are you doing here?"

Riker glanced at his companion with a shocked expression on his face. Ro just aimed her phaser at Chakotay and fired. Then Riker turned back, pointed his at Janeway and shot her in the chest, stunning her. Both of them slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Well, this is bad," Ro said dryly, eyeing the unexpected Admiral. "What is she doing here?"

"Fantastic." Riker heaved a sigh. "Geordi will be thrilled. We're really racking up the charges for that inevitable court-martial."


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

"Easy now," Janeway vaguely heard someone murmur. "You were hit with a phaser blast at close range." She felt a hypospray against her neck and heard the soft hiss. The fog in her mind began to fade.

Janeway's head was pounding. _Commander Riker shot me? _Feeling sudden panic, she flailed out with one of her arms. _Where's Chakotay?_ "Where am I?" she managed to get out.

"Alaska," the voice said. Janeway blinked her eyes open and her vision cleared. "I'm Doctor Beverly Crusher from the _Enterprise._"

None of this made any sense to Janeway and she suspected that it wouldn't make any sense even if her mind had been clear. "I've been kidnapped by the crew of the _Enterprise?_" she asked, confused. "That doesn't make any sense. What's going on here?" She forced herself into a sitting position and glared at Doctor Crusher. She glanced about the room, but they were alone. "Where's Chakotay?" she demanded.

"He's being briefed by Jean-Luc," Beverly responded kindly. "He's all right, you don't have to worry." She opened a medical tricorder and ran it over Janeway, checking her vitals. "Are you feeling better now?"

"I still feel like I got shot," Janeway said with a glare. She lifted her back up off the bed slowly, and Crusher rushed to support her. "Couldn't you have just _asked_?"

"I'm afraid not, Admiral," said a voice from the doorway. Janeway turned towards it and glowered at the person there – Commander Riker. Riker grimaced under her scrutiny. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we didn't have many options. We didn't even know you would be there, your presence here is an accident. We needed to talk to Commander Chakotay without anyone at Starfleet knowing about it."

"And why is that?" Janeway asked as Crusher helped her back to her feet.

Riker walked over and helped Beverly steady Janeway. "Ro is explaining everything to Chakotay. They're apparently old acquaintances from both the Academy and the Maquis."

Janeway shook her head. "Who?"

Riker caught Crusher's eye behind Janeway's back. He gestured towards the door. "Come on, Admiral. We didn't mean to bring you into this but you're here now and we can't get you back out of it again. We'll explain everything in just a minute."

The three of them walked down the hall to a room with a table. Picard, Ro, and Chakotay sat there talking quietly. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Janeway asked. Chakotay stood and hurried over to her side and, taking a second to glare at the other occupants of the room, she embraced him. Then he led her back to the table and she sat down beside him, staring at Picard and Ro.

"To get straight to the point, Admiral," Ro said. "We have a problem."

Janeway took a second to focus on the Bajoran woman sitting across from her. She noted the old, curved Federation combadge on her chest and her lack of a uniform. "Who are you?" she asked.

"She's Ro Laren, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "She was one of my students in Advanced Tactics right before I left to join the Maquis." He laughed lightly. "I admit, though, she taught me as much as I taught her." He turned to look at Janeway. "She was the helmsman on the _Enterprise _when she defected to join the Maquis. Ro and I were acquaintances after her defection, although we got stranded out in the Delta Quadrant a few months after she joined up." Chakotay rested his hand on Janeway's. "Kathryn, these people need our help."

Janeway waved her hands in the air, sliding the one out from under Chakotay's. "Will someone please start making sense? What the hell is going on?"

Picard leaned forwards. "Perhaps we should start at the beginning."

Janeway nodded emphatically. "That _might _be a good idea."

* * *

After the briefing was over, Janeway sighed, rubbing her temples with her hands. Chakotay's comforting hand rested on her shoulder and she relaxed slightly, sighing. "You're right. You do have a problem." 

Ro leaned back in her chair, pushing the front two legs off the ground. "Now that you're in on this, maybe you can help us come up with a way to get Chakotay off the planet without tipping off anyone that we're on to the launch site."

Janeway winced. "Well, unfortunately we have the hearing on the status of the Maquis in just a few days." She glanced at Picard. "Have you talked to Captain Louvois about that?" she asked.

"We had dinner two nights ago. She refused to tell me what her decision was going to be, but I highly suspect that she's going to set your entire crew loose, including Commander Chakotay here." Picard shrugged. "After the hearing, he'll be free to leave the planet, but it will be hard to make sure that he isn't followed by anyone."

Ro laughed, rocking backwards. "Well, we could stick him in my ship with the cloaking device and sneak away," she commented. She set the chair back down on the floor and sat up, shaking her head. "No. We need a ship, also. We can't take the _Enterprise, _of course, and the _Gale _is far too small, old, and slow to be useful." The room was silent for a few long seconds as each of the people there contemplated their situation.

"We could borrow the _Delta Flyer,_" Chakotay said. They all glanced at him. "_Voyager's _custom shuttlecraft. She's got warp engines that can fly with the best of them, a hot-rod impulse engine, and weapons and shields that were inspired by Seven of Nine." He shrugged. "She's a little small – we could fit six on board, no more – but I think she's the best option we have." He glanced thoughtfully at Janeway. "We could equip her with the cloaking device also." Janeway nodded, considering the idea in her mind.

"The _Flyer _is in South Dakota, with _Voyager,_" she said. "They might not miss her absence for a while should we appropriate her." Janeway shrugged.

While they were discussing, Riker was eyeing Janeway and Chakotay. They were a couple, that was obvious – they'd been engaged in a more-than-friendly cinch when he and Ro had beamed in. No one knew about it, though, or the media would have jumped on it. He began to smile, looking from one to the other.

Janeway caught him looking. "Something funny, Commander?" she asked.

"No, not at all… how long have the two of you been a couple?" Riker asked with a grin, crossing his arms across his chest.

Janeway blushed. "It's a recent development," she admitted.

"No one knows about it, not even your crew?" Riker questioned. Janeway nodded her assent, although her eyes took on a suspicious gleam as she saw the gears turn in Riker's head. Finally, Riker flashed a grin and glanced around the room. "I have an idea, but no one here is going to like it," he said. "Well, except maybe Ro."

Janeway glanced uncomfortably at Chakotay. Picard leaned forwards towards his first officer. "What are you thinking, Number One?" he asked.

Riker looked at Picard. "You said that Captain Louvois was going to rule in favor of the Maquis. How certain are you about that?"

Picard leaned back. "Hmm… well, knowing Phillipa and the facts of the case, as well as the public opinion about _Voyager _and the Maquis, I'd say it's almost a sure thing." He glanced at Janeway. "But there's no guarantee," he cautioned.

Riker leaned in. "How hard would it be to convince her to rule _against _the Maquis?" he asked. "Against Chakotay in particular?"

Janeway and Chakotay both started forwards. "What?" Janeway choked out. "You want to convince the JAG office to rule _against _the Maquis? How does _that _help us?" Riker smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"It's simple. Captain Louvois gives him a prison sentence… and you break him out." Riker laughed. "Why not break him out right off the courtroom floor? Walk up to him, give him a kiss, make a big show out of the fact that you're breaking him out because the two of you are in a relationship, beam to the _Delta Flyer _and vanish." Riker raised his eyebrow at Janeway. "Who would suspect that _you _had convinced the JAG to give him a prison term just _so_ you could break him out – all as a ruse to confuse Starfleet Command? The media would eat it up." He smiled. "I don't see a downside."

Janeway had her hands flat on the table, her eyes wide. _"I do!"_

Ro was laughing unabashedly. "I'd forgotten how you think, Riker," she laughed. "I like it, it's perfect."

Chakotay was wearing a silly grin that he was unable to remove, even when Janeway shot him a glare that she usually reserved for people trying to kill her crew. When she turned it on Picard, though, he stifled the laugh that was threatening. Eyeing her warily, Picard waited until Ro had calmed down to speak. "It would solve a number of issues, Admiral," Picard started. He held up a hand before Janeway could begin fuming again. "However, I'm not sure I could convince Phillipa to go through with it."

Ro sighed. "Why not, sir? We're all going to be in a lot of trouble for this as it is, she might as well join us."

Picard shook his head. "All the actions we've taken could be reasonably justified to Starfleet Command after this… catastrophe… has been taken care of. But Captain Louvois would never be able to justify throwing a verdict because a friend asked her to, no matter what the reasoning behind it was." Picard frowned. "She'd lose her place in the JAG office at the very least, and probably her commission." He rested his back against the chair. "Although, at dinner she talked about being very frustrated with the JAG administration, particularly Admiral Bennett, her superior in the San Francisco office."

Janeway sat up. "What about?" Everyone turned to her and she sighed. "I'm not agreeing to this, not yet, but I have an idea." She turned back to Picard. "What's Captain Louvois frustrated about?"

Picard shrugged. "Phillipa was the judge of the hearing on Data's rights as an individual. Since then she's tried to be a force for the rights of artificial life – she dealt with the Exocomps after we discovered them and has made multiple minor rulings on the state of holographic rights. She paid particularly strong interest to the case involving your EMH's rights as an artist." He paused. "She's been stymied by the higher-ups in Starfleet from bringing your EMH to a hearing to determine his status as an individual."

Janeway smiled. "I think I can convince Louvois to help us." She turned to Chakotay. "I have an idea. If we're all going to get court-martialed for this one way or the other, why not use it to do some good? What better way to get attention than to commit a crime?"

Riker glanced at her, confused. "Wait a second. Thirty seconds ago you were so opposed to this idea that you were standing over there glaring at all of us as if we just ran over your dog. Now you're all for the idea and even willing to talk Louvois into helping us at the cost of her career?"

Janeway raised an eyebrow at Riker. "My dignity is a small price to pay if it helps give the Doctor his right to choose and control his own destiny. And, much as I might hate to admit it, this idea is the best one any of us has had yet." She shrugged, and placed her hand on Chakotay's.

Chakotay laughed. "Well, it would certainly be the most interesting way of revealing our relationship to the public," he said. He glanced at Janeway. "Do you really think you can get the JAG office to hold that hearing if we do this?"

"Sure," Janeway answered. "He just has to come along and be an active participant in all this so he gets court-martialed with the rest of us. We can use that to force the JAG office to deal with him one way or the other." She smiled. "As I said before, what better way to get attention is there than to commit a crime?" She looked at Riker. "There's one other problem with all of this," she said. "We need to get out of the Earth system as quickly as possible and off to the demilitarized zone to search for this Rebecca Sullivan and find out where the missile launch site is. But the cloaking device won't hide us from the system's sensor grid and there's a ship out there that will catch us no matter how fast we run."

Ro sighed heavily. "The transwarp project. We can't outrun the _Hood._" She shook her head. "I'd forgotten all about that." She glanced at Picard. "Sabotage?"

Riker looked at her incredulously. "You want us to sabotage a Federation starship?"

"Well, again, why not?" Ro looked at Riker with an even stare. "We're breaking every other rule in the book as it is, what's a count of sabotage? It's not going to make much of a difference in the end."

Picard frowned. "I don't want to sabotage Robert's ship," he said.

Janeway glanced away. "We could steal the transwarp coil," she whispered. Everyone's heads jerked in her direction. "I have the access codes for the _Hood _and can get us in and out without anyone noticing. We could construct a fake transwarp coil, sneak aboard, steal the _Hood's _engine, and replace it with the mockup. We could even install the coil aboard the _Flyer _without a problem."

Chakotay shook his head in bemusement. "Let me get this straight," he said. "We're going to talk a judge into sentencing me to time in prison just so you can then break me out. Then we're going to steal a shuttlecraft, sabotage the Federation transwarp program by borrowing the only transwarp coil currently in existence, and fly off to the Badlands to stop an old Maquis missile launching facility that we don't even know for sure _exists_ from… doing whatever it's programmed to do." He blinked. "Did I miss anything?"

Janeway squeezed his hand. "Hopefully at the end of it we'll manage to get the courts to acknowledge the Doctor as an individual," she commented. "Although, after they do they'll probably send him to New Zealand with the rest of us," she realized aloud.

Picard sighed. "This is absolutely absurd," he said. "I can't believe we're even considering this."

Ro took a sideways look at him. "Do you have a better idea?"

There was a long silence. Finally, Picard agreed. "All right. The first thing we need to do is talk Phillipa into throwing the trial," he said. "That should be interesting." He looked at Janeway. "San Francisco for lunch tomorrow," he said. "I'll choose someplace… out of the way."

Janeway nodded. "All right. Now, I have an idea for a backup plan. Just in case we bite off a little more than we can chew." She glanced at Geordi, who had snuck into the room and sat quietly behind Riker. "Commander La Forge, tell me what you think of this…"

* * *

"Jean-Luc?" Beverly Crusher had known Captain Picard for many, many years, and in that time she'd seen him sit and just think about what he was about to do at all kinds of important moments. Picard was sitting in one of Riker's armchair's looking out one of his bay windows towards the Alaskan wild. "Penny for your thoughts?" 

"Oh, Beverly. Please, sit down." Picard gestured to Crusher and she took a seat next to him. "We've gone out and broken all the rules before, you know. But never quite like this." Picard frowned. "We don't even know who the enemy is, Beverly."

"We don't even know there is an enemy, Jean-Luc. But can we really afford to take the risk? What if there is an Admiral in Starfleet who's gone rogue, like Captain Maxwell ten years ago? Or even that there's just some mercenary who stumbled across the Maquis missile launch site? Can we afford to take that chance?"

"No," Picard said flatly. "We can't." Beverly climbed over and gave Picard a small hug.

"Don't worry about it, Jean-Luc. Ro came and asked for our help and, despite everything, she's still one of us." She sighed. "I suppose I won't be going on the _Delta Flyer _when everyone takes off, huh."

"What? Oh, no Beverly. I'm sorry." Picard smiled. "We've got to take Janeway and Chakotay for obvious reasons, and Ro. Then Will and I are going, and we'll bring Data too to provide that extra computer memory and database access that we we'll be missing without a starship. Janeway wants to bring her EMH along also, but when he's not doing anything he turns into a little metal device a little larger than a combadge."

Beverly winced. "I swore I'd never use one of those things," she said. "I suppose it has to be this way. At least you'll have a medic in case someone gets injured." She rested her arm on his shoulder. "In case I don't get a chance before you run off on this damn foolhardy crusade… take care of yourself, Jean-Luc. We'll be waiting."

Picard grabbed Crusher's hand lightly. "I make no promises, Beverly," he said. "But I'll do my best."

* * *

The first thing Janeway did after she was returned to Chakotay's apartment was pull up the computer terminal. Querying the terminal for access to Jupiter Station, she worked to get a transmission through to the Doctor. Finally, the screen came up and the Doctor's face appeared. "Admiral? It's very late in San Francisco, what do you need?" 

Janeway looked at the Doctor. "Is there anyone near you?" she asked. The Doctor glanced around him, then turned back to the computer even more perplexed than before.

"No. Is everything all right?"

"Doctor, I need you to secure this channel," Janeway said, working to secure it on her end. The Doctor looked even more mystified but did as she requested. "I'm sending you a data file with instructions on it. They are going to sound very strange but I need you to follow them explicitly. Don't talk to Dr. Zimmerman or Seven about it, do you understand?"

The Doctor nodded. "Of course. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you over the com system, Doctor. Just trust me and follow the instructions to the letter, do you understand?" Janeway spoke with her command voice, leaving no room for questioning her orders. "This is going to involve some amount of risk on all our parts, Doctor, but I think I've found a way to kill two birds with one stone. You'll understand after you've read the file."

"Yes, Admiral."

Janeway nodded. "Good night, Doctor." She cut the connection. After the screen went black she sighed and sank into the chair. _This is a bad idea. If it fails, it ends all our careers. Even if it succeeds it will probably end our careers. But if Ro is right, we can't take the chance that those missiles are going to be launched. And if it works, a lot of good can come from our court-martial._

She stood, lightheaded, and walked tiredly to the bed. Chakotay was lying there, waiting for her. "Does it ever end, Chakotay?"

He laughed lightly. "I'll admit Riker's timing could have been better." He paused. "But then, it could have been worse." He patted the bed and she slid in beside him. "It's going to be a long few days. We should get sleep now while we can."

"I can't believe we're going to do this. Bribing a judge? Staging a jailbreak? Sabotaging the _Hood?_ Who am I and what did I do with Kathryn Janeway?"

Chakotay chuckled. "It's the Kirk in you, Kathryn." He grabbed her and pulled her against him. "Welcome to the Maquis."

* * *

Halfway across the solar system, the Doctor stared, confused, at his now dark computer terminal. Curious, the EMH downloaded the message Janeway had transmitted into a tricorder and erased all record of it from Jupiter Station's main computer. Bringing it up, he saw that it was a text note. 

Skimming it over quickly, he felt a combination of nervousness and excitement as he reached the conclusion. _Doctor, your orders are as follows: proceed to Vulcan at once. Give this message to Tuvok, then the two of you are to make your way to Ronara Prime in the demilitarized zone, where you'll rendezvous with the _Delta Flyer. _Tuvok will return to Vulcan after dropping you off, he has another mission to complete once you've joined us. There's a second message included for him. _

_I know it's probably the most unlikely way that we could have foreseen to give you a chance for the hearing you've been fighting for, but it's the only way I see to force the JAG office to do it now, instead of postponing it indefinitely. It's very possible you'll be joining us all in a penal colony after this, and if you're not comfortable taking this risk I understand. _

The Doctor smiled. _She's giving me, and holograms everywhere, a chance for that next step. How could I refuse? _Deactivating the tricorder and burying the message deep in its memory, he restarted his terminal, searching for the next available transport to Vulcan.

* * *

The next afternoon, Janeway eased her way up one of San Francisco's infamous hills towards an old restaurant that Picard had sent her the address for that morning. Pushing her way through the old swinging doors, she saw Picard and Louvois sitting at a small table in the farthest corner from the door. Despite herself, she smiled. _Sneaking about in the shadows. We're like a bunch of thieves plotting our next heist._

Louvois was hissing at Picard. "Jean-Luc Picard, we could both get court-martialed for that kind of suggestion! I don't know what you were thinking when you asked me to lunch, but asking me to _throw _a _trial! _What on Earth are you trying to pull! You've gone from the pompous ass that I've known for thirty years to a complete stranger who's far too close to the edge of insanity!" Louvois was halfway out of her chair when Janeway set her hand on Louvois' shoulder.

"Calm down, Captain," she said quietly. "Captain Picard has a very good reason for his impromptu request – and it could have consequences he hasn't told you about yet." Janeway sat down.

Louvois eyed Picard. "Can one of you tell me the whole story? And _now, _before I call Starfleet security and have you both arrested for attempting to interfere with a hearing?" Louvois looked at Janeway suddenly, as if startled. "And why would you_ want_ to see your first officer thrown into prison? You've spent the last few weeks telling everyone who will listen that he should get off free!"

Picard rested his hands on the table. "Phillipa, it's like this. Yesterday night a former officer of mine who had defected to the Maquis showed up unexpectedly…

Ten minutes later, Louvois was shaking her head. "That's an incredible story, Jean-Luc. Do you trust this former crewman of yours?"

"With my life," Picard responded.

"Captain Louvois," Janeway said. "I understand that you've been trying to convince the JAG office to hold a hearing on the status of _Voyager's _EMH." Louvois nodded, slowly. "But the office has been very reluctant to allow it because they're worried about the prospect of full holographic rights and they don't want to take that step. If you help us, I think we can force them to take that next step in that direction."

"How?" Louvois asked.

"We're all going to be court-martialed after this, there's no question." Louvois smiled a little and nodded. "Tell me, Captain, if you were judge and someone tried to court-martial a hologram, what would you do?"

Louvois shrugged. "You can't court-martial a computer program. Technically they're not responsible for their own actions because they are subject to their programming." Her eyes widened. "If the EMH was a part of this conspiracy they would put him up on charges along with everyone else…" she said slowly. "They'd charge him for his role in the scheme too. If someone were to object on the grounds that his court-martial was invalid and _demanded _a hearing, in a trial as public as this one is likely to be…"

"The judge would be forced to determine his legal status. No more procrastinating. The judge couldn't cancel the court-martial and he couldn't ignore the hearing." Janeway leaned in. "Even if they _didn't _bring him up on charges, the Doctor could demand to be held with his shipmates and demand a hearing on those grounds. Either way, this would give us an opportunity to settle the issue once and for all – assuming you helped us get it all started. And we need your help to get to the Badlands without tipping off whoever has the missiles that we're coming."

Louvois folder her hands on the table and stared at them for a few long seconds. "All right," she whispered. "I'll give Chakotay a prison sentence. Just be sure to name me as your legal counsel for your court-martial after they kick me out of the service. I'll use this to force the hologram issue." She shrugged with a small smile. "I was planning on retiring soon anyway."

* * *

Ro and La Forge beamed back to the _Gale _later that day to retrieve the old cloaking device. "This was my ship for seven years, Geordi," Ro said, placing a palm on the docking hatch, looking out into space. Earth floated serenely below them, the white of the polar ice cap directly under the ship. "I wish we didn't have to destroy it." 

Geordi was fiddling with the wiring on the cloaking device. "We can't leave it here for people to find after we remove the cloak," he said logically. "We don't have a choice." He stopped fiddling and stood, walking over to Ro. "You named this ship after your father, didn't you."

"Yes," Ro said quietly. "Gale. I really never knew my father, Geordi. The Cardassians tortured him to death when I was seven… I got to watch. But there are things I remember. His smile, the food he used to cook, the feeling of safety I used to get when I was in his arms, all of that." She sighed. "That's why I joined the Maquis."

"Because they were fighting the Cardassians?"

"No." Ro sat heavily in the pilot's seat. "The leader of the cell I infiltrated was a man named Macias. He was human, but he ate the food my father used to cook, played the belaklavion just like my father, had the same smile…" She sighed heavily and met Geordi's eyes. She laughed for a second. "On a completely unrelated note, I'm always surprised when I see you without your visor."

Geordi smiled, turning back to the cloaking device. "Tell me about Macias," he said as he worked.

"There's not much to tell," Ro said. "Right before the operation in which I was going to turn the Maquis over to Starfleet, the Cardassians snuck three troops into the colony we were staying in. They killed four people. Two were civilians, one was a Maquis I didn't know, and Macias." She paused. "I cried, Geordi, for the first time in a long time. It was like losing my father all over again. I just couldn't do it. He asked me to take his place and I couldn't say no."

"You know you're forgiven, Ro." Geordi unplugged the cloaking device and gestured to Ro. "We forgave you long before you even came back. There was a service on the _Enterprise _when news of the end of the Maquis came through and people spoke of you." He laughed. "I think Riker finally said what he never got the chance to say the time everyone thought we were dead."

Ro's eyes flashed. "What did he say?" she demanded.

Geordi laughed. "I'm not telling you that. If you want to know, you'll have to ask him. I can tell you there was no Bajoran death chant."

"Thank the prophets for that."

Ro sighed, moving next to Geordi and placing her hands under one side of the cloak. Together they heaved it up to a standing position. Geordi glanced at her. "Take a second to say goodbye."

Ro gazed around the inside of the _Gale. _"You know, I thought I would be sad to see this ship go," she said. "But I think I'm happier back with the crew of the _Enterprise _than I ever was with the Maquis. I had somewhere I belonged, I just didn't know it until I left." Ro reached out and placed her palm against the metal hull. "Goodbye, _Gale,_" she whispered. "Goodbye, Macias." Ro closed her eyes and bowed her head, feeling her ship through her hand.

Then she turned back to La Forge, pulling away. "Get us out of here, Geordi."

Geordi tapped his combadge. "La Forge to Data, two people and one piece of equipment to beam up." They both shimmered and the left the ship empty. One minute later, the _Gale's_ self-destruct activated and there was nothing of Ro's faithful ship left but a plethora of falling debris that scorched down towards the pole.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The night before the court-martial, the conspirators gathered to pull off the last piece of preparation. With Janeway's guidance, Geordi and Data had built a piece of equipment that looked like a transwarp coil and had data input and output that said it was a transwarp coil, but most certainly wasn't a transwarp coil.

In Riker's basement, the three of them crowded around the cylindrical shape that sat on the floor. "Do you really think this is going to work, Data?" Geordi asked.

"Unless the _Hood _attempts to go to transwarp, this should perfectly simulate a transwarp coil. Building a facsimile of one is far less difficult than building the device itself." Data closed up a dataport and nodded at Janeway. "The device is complete, Admiral." Data turned to Geordi. "The apology to Captain DeSoto has also been stored in memory."

Geordi nodded. "I wish I were going with you."

"We need you here," Janeway responded. "The second half of the plan can't succeed without someone here we know we can trust."

"I understand, but I still wish I were going," Geordi said. He shrugged. "I suppose I shouldn't worry about that until after we've gotten this into the _Hood's _engine room."

"That would be wise," Data agreed. He tapped his combadge. "Data to Chakotay. Have you acquired the _Delta Flyer?_"

The combadge buzzed for a few seconds, then Chakotay's voice came in from the other end. _"I have the ship, yes Data. I'm ready to beam up the coil and the cloak on your mark."_

"Come on," Geordi said, walking over to the cloaking device. "The sooner we get all of this done, the sooner we serve out our prison sentences for the whole mess."

"There is no guarantee that we will be sentenced to prison, Geordi. In fact, I think it would be unlikely, especially in light of…"

Geordi laughed, cutting him off. "I know, Data. Sometimes being pessimistic about a mission is a way humans deal with stress." He shrugged. "I don't know why that works, but it does sometimes."

"Ah." Data glanced from Janeway to Geordi. "Geordi, should I start making pessimistic comments before away missions?"

Geordi sighed as he finished preparing the cloak for transport. "No, Data. Everyone knows that you don't exaggerate. I think you would just make people worry too much and have the opposite effect." Data raised a hand and began to ask another question.

Janeway cut in. "Gentlemen, speaking of missions we have one to complete." She tapped her combadge. "Chakotay, you can beam up us and the equipment now." Watching as first the cloak and the fake coil vanished, Janeway waited to disappear herself. She glanced at Data and Geordi. _This should be a fascinating mission._

* * *

At Utopia Planitia, it was 2200 hours. The _Hood, _still technically undergoing a refit although the ship was ready for standard duty, carried only a skeleton crew – most of her staff was on shore leave during the refit. Hugged snugly by one of the shipyard's frame drydocks, the crew of the _Delta Flyer _watched as she grew on the viewscreen. 

They didn't bring along the whole team – Chakotay and Ro had been left behind, since Chakotay couldn't leave Earth and Ro needed to keep a low profile. Riker was at the helm – as a former first officer of the _Hood _he knew his way around the ship and would guide them from the _Flyer. _In the back, the strike team of Janeway, Data, and Geordi prepped their fake transwarp coil for transport.

Geordi was another former officer of the _Hood. _He and Riker had transferred to the _Enterprise _together from the _Hood _fourteen years before. He stood up after securing the fake coil and the tapped his combadge. "Commander, we're ready back here. Beam us to one of the empty crew quarters on Deck 12 as soon as we're in transporter range."

"_Acknowledged. The Utopia Planitia patrols haven't harassed us yet – we are running with Admiral Janeway's authorization codes, after all. Get in and get out, they won't let us sit here for long."_

"Aye, sir." Geordi placed a hand on the fake coil. He sighed. "Let's do it. Energize."

* * *

The _Hood _was a ghost ship. She was like all vessels in drydock, running with minimal crew and thus her interior lighting was also on minimal. The corridors were black as night, with the only light coming from the auxiliary systems status monitors. Janeway slid out of the crew quarters they were in, glancing in both directions and holding a tricorder to check for lifesigns. "We're clear," she whispered behind her. "Which way is Engineering?" 

Geordi stepped out with her, Data carrying the fake transwarp coil in one arm. Geordi pointed to the right. "That way," he whispered. "Fifty meters." Geordi stopped at a status console and palmed it to life. "There are twenty crewmen aboard," he reported. "Engineering is empty, but the security office has people in it. We'll have to be careful."

"Hopefully they didn't detect the transport," Janeway said in a soft voice. "Come on, let's go." Geordi lead the way, his enhanced eyes providing better night vision than Janeway herself had, while Data took up the rear. Suddenly, Geordi stopped, holding a hand up behind him. Ahead of them, Janeway could hear voices and footsteps.

"Lieutenant, what could happen in spacedock?" a somewhat nasally sounding voice said up in the distance. Janeway pressed her back against the corridor, looking forwards. She could see two people and she sighed silently. One of them she recognized.

"Ensign Sutter, you know as well as I that the _Hood _currently has the single most valuable piece of equipment in the entire Federation aboard. The transwarp coil has to be protected." In the shadows, Janeway could just barely make out the red-gold hair and slender stature of Lieutenant Lisa Neeley. "Imagine what would happen if the Ferengi got their hands on it, hmm?"

As quietly as possible, Geordi whispered, "We need a distraction to get to Engineering."

Data nodded. "I believe I can provide one." He set down the coil and silently tapped on a computer interface on the wall next to them. A small amount of light was produced and Janeway shifted her body to cover as much of it as possible while Data worked, nervously looking down the hall towards the still conversing Neeley and her reluctant ensign. Data's hands flew over the console, working quickly.

Suddenly, the corridor lit up as the red alert klaxon sounded. "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. All security personnel report to Deck 16. Repeat, all security personnel report to Deck 16."

Down the hall, Janeway could see Neeley bounce up onto her toes, getting ready to sprint. "_See, _Ensign?" She shot down the corridor in the opposite direction, headed for the turbolift with the young ensign in tow. Janeway could hear her on the com, demanding a report.

Geordi glanced at Data. "You scared me there for a second," he whispered.

Data nodded. "My apologies. We must hurry, it will not take them long to determine that there are no intruders on Deck 16." The three of them hurried down the hall to Engineering, slipping in the large sliding doors. Data and Geordi followed quickly as Janeway lead them towards the location where she had helped install the coil. Janeway slid down to the floor on her back, sliding next to the coil and starting to disconnect it from the mainframe.

"Data, get on the computer and start creating other sensor ghosts. Buy us some time. I want it to look like a computer malfunction later," Janeway said aloud, yanking another wire out of the coil.

"Yes, Admiral."

Finally, Janeway had the last wires undone and pulled the coil up and out of its position next to the giant, inactive warp core. "Data," she whispered. The android came over and lifted it easily up and out of the way, then put the replacement coil back in its place. Janeway and La Forge worked quickly to put everything back the way it had been.

* * *

Lisa Neeley prided herself on her competence. She was a veteran of the Dominion War, had served on the _Defiant _during all the most desperate missions, and always felt she had a knack for knowing when something was wrong. 

Something was wrong with this intruder alert. It just didn't make any sense. First the computer said the intruders were on Deck 16 – which made some sense, but not much. Then it echoed around the ship, bouncing to Deck 8 and then Deck 13. There didn't seem to be any logic to the pattern – but it did have her security staff hustling all about the _Hood, _searching for an intruder that Neeley was beginning to suspect wasn't there.

_There's only one target on this ship that's worth stealing. Sure, we have a bunch of new technology – armor, weapons, shields – but it's nothing that is completely out of the ordinary. If they're here, they're after the transwarp coil. _Neeley spun on her heels and headed back in the direction she had come. _It's all a distraction! _

Neeley climbed up a Jeffries tube and poked her head out on Deck 12. _I've got to get back to Engineering. _Seeing no one, she stopped at an armory locker and put down her normal hand phaser for a meaner two-hand rifle. Then, aiming it ahead of her, she swept the barrel over the darkened corridor. Seeing nothing, she flipped the light on the barrel off so that she wouldn't be seen.

Moving through one of the offices that bordered Engineering, she skipped past the main door and entered the large open room that housed the warp core from the back. Pressing her back to a wall, she listened for intruders. Hearing only the soft hum of the inactive warp core, she twisted her body around, aiming the rifle towards the center of the room and the transwarp coil.

Nothing.

She slapped her combadge. "Neeley to Security, report."

"_I'm sorry, sir. I think all this was just a computer malfunction. It stopped just a second ago. We should have the shipyard take a look at our main computer before we leave for active duty." _

"Acknowledged." Neeley took a long look at the transwarp coil. Everything looked all right. She sighed. "Getting jittery, Lisa," she muttered to herself.

* * *

On the _Delta Flyer, _three people materialized with the real transwarp coil. "Get us out of here. Slowly, we don't want to look suspicious," Janeway ordered. 

"No worries, Admiral. I've been playing cards over the computer with the shipyard operations office. They don't suspect a thing." Riker grinned.

Janeway nodded. "Bring us back to Earth, Riker. Then set us down somewhere innocuous. We need to install this coil in the _Flyer _before the hearing tomorrow." She sat in one of the chairs in the cockpit. "That was too close."

"Yes ma'am."

Geordi slumped next to her. "I just helped sabotage Captain DeSoto's ship," he said in an amazed voice. "He is going to _kill _me when I next see him."

Janeway smiled. "I'd be more worried about Lieutenant Neeley. Unlike DeSoto, she seems like the type to hold a grudge." Geordi groaned.

* * *

Janeway was working on the _Flyer _alone, Geordi having gone out to get some food and Data vanished with him. She had helped install a transwarp coil on a shuttle not unlike this one once before – the first _Delta Flyer _– after she had stolen the coil from the Borg. 

Thinking of the Borg brought back a number of memories that Janeway didn't care for. It also reminded her of that last, epic adventure through time and space – the last great conflict against the Borg. She felt somewhat guilty over stealing the transwarp coil from the _Hood_ because the future Admiral DeSoto had given it to her. When she returned it to the Captain DeSoto from this time period, it was as if she had returned it to where it had belonged, despite the time difference.

Now she'd helped steal it back from DeSoto. Janeway knew, instinctively, that everything they had done and were planning to do had to be done, but it didn't make her feel much less guilty. Working steadily, she plugged the transwarp coil into the _Flyer's _warp engine in the same way she had disassembled it in the _Hood's _engine room. The ship's cloak was already online and functioning and the _Flyer _was safely hidden about three hundred miles north of Riker's house.

_I hope all this is worthwhile. In an odd sort of way, I hope that this missile silo of Ro's does exist and that someone has taken control of it to use for nefarious purposes, because if it doesn't than all this was a waste. _Janeway plugged the last wires between the coil and the _Flyer's _engine. _Chakotay said I could trust her, so I do. _It was that simple.

* * *

Riker grinned across the table at Janeway. "I match your fifty, and I raise you a hundred." Riker scooped a huge portion of his chips and dumped them in the middle of the circular table.

Deanna groaned. "Here we go." She glanced at Data. "Next hand, could you stack the deck against him?"

Data looked at her, confused. "You want me to cheat?"

Deanna smiled. "Nevermind, Data." They both turned back and watched as Janeway carefully examined her cards, then the pot. Finally, she leaned back in her chair.

"I know a bluff when I see one," she commented. She put the requisite chips in the pile on the table. "I call." Everyone at the table leaned in with interest and Riker slowly flipped his cards over, one by one. When he flipped over the last one, everyone groaned and Janeway winced. "I guess I should stick to pool," she admitted.

Riker grinned widely and gathered the chips next to him on the table. "What can I say, Admiral, this is definitely my game." He nodded to Data. "Deal, my friend." Data shuffled the cards, randomizing them as best he could, and then dealt another hand.

From the back of the room, Picard watched. There was only so much room at the table, and he and Beverly sat back instead of playing. Picard smiled as Ro took the next hand, and then Chakotay won one. "They were good people," he said to Beverly. "The Maquis, I mean."

"For the most part," she agreed. "They started with only the best of intentions, but that became warped with time when men like Eddington took over. Oh, he was loyal and determined, but he also made mistakes that were the beginning of the end." She glanced up as Deanna cheered after successfully calling one of Riker's bluffs.

"Quoi qu'il arrive, la flame de la résistance français no doit pas s'éteindre et ne s'éteindra pas," Picard said, letting the words fall from his mouth in his native tongue.

"Hmm?" Beverly asked.

"No matter what comes, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished," Picard paraphrased. "The Maquis chose their name well. Their lands had been occupied by a greater, hostile military force and fought to free their homelands. Perhaps the flame that de Gaulle spoke of four hundred years ago lives on."

"I think it will express itself whenever it's needed, Jean-Luc. If the Dominion had won the war, we would probably all be part of a similar resistance today." Beverly smiled. "Now you're an honorary Maquis, I think. We all are."

"And our mission is to stop the ultimate folly of war – the last blow of vengeance," Picard murmured. "Whoever has taken control of the missile launcher wants only one thing, whether they are Maquis or Starfleet or some other party – Cardassians maybe – to use those missiles not to fight a war, or to strike a blow for the resistance, but to murder. That is the mistake that far too many freedom fighters make. We've seen it time and again, throughout history. Despite how lofty we are now, and how far we have come, it is so easy to fall back into a more barbaric time."

"And that is why you must go, Jean-Luc. It's why Janeway has agreed to help, why Ro and Chakotay are here, and in the end is the real reason why Captain Louvois is willing to throw away her career for this." Beverly smiled, resting her hand on Picard's. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Hmm. Yes." Picard turned his hand up to catch Crusher's. "I'm sorry we can't bring you along." A sudden racket from the poker table disturbed their conversation and Janeway was grinning at Riker, mockingly.

"I think the Admiral just won a round," Crusher commented. At the table, Janeway stood and announced that she was done for a while, wandering her way over towards Picard. Beverly released Picard's hand. "I'm going to go play for a while, Jean-Luc. I think the Admiral wants to talk to you." She smiled and, sharing a few words with Janeway on her way to the table, took Janeway's seat.

"Sit down, Admiral," Jean-Luc said to Janeway, and she took a seat across from him. "What can I do for you?"

Janeway winced. "I just wanted to get away from the table for a while, really." She shook her head in bemusement. "I can't believe I'm going to go through with this tomorrow."

Picard smiled, despite himself. "Ah, yes. Breaking Commander Chakotay out of prison before he even gets out of the courtroom."

"That, and admitting to everyone, all at once, everywhere, that he and I are in a relationship." Janeway sighed. "I wouldn't let us be anything more than close friends out in the Delta Quadrant, but once we were back…"

Picard shrugged. "It's not uncommon for unattached captains to have romantic relationships with those under their command, Admiral," he admitted. "I've done it myself in the past. The difference is that, almost always, the subordinate gets transferred to another ship shortly thereafter to avoid a conflict of interest. You didn't have that option out there."

Janeway sighed and nodded, turning around to glance at the poker table as she heard a hum of activity as Ro won a hand by bluffing Data. "Do you always play with your crew, Captain?" she asked.

"For the last seven years, yes. For the first seven, no. I always felt it would be crossing some indefinable line between appropriate and inappropriate," Picard admitted.

Janeway sighed. "I don't think I would have ever let myself do something like this out in the Delta Quadrant. I wish I had."

Picard raised two eyebrows. "Well, that's the benefit of being back home again, Admiral." He smiled. "I think we should enjoy it while we're both out of prison. After all, who knows when we'll get another chance?" Janeway nodded and both of them stood and returned to the game.

* * *

Admiral Owen Paris looked both ways as he strode into the courtroom, heading for the seats designated for high-rank Starfleet officials. On the floor of the courtroom, standing in the back he saw Admiral Janeway. She had received special dispensation from the judge, Captain Louvois, to stand below during the proceedings. _Well, it's at least time to put an end to this charade once and for all. Louvois is certain to rule in favor of the Maquis, it's the only decision that makes any sense._

When the four Maquis strode into the room, Owen glanced across the courtroom to catch the eyes of his son. He nodded in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. _Don't worry about it, Tom. Nothing is going to happen to B'Elanna._

Captain Louvois droned on the charges against each of the defendants, listing various incidents that they were involved in and the specifics of the crimes the Maquis committed against the Federation and Cardassia in those few years before the Dominion War broke out. Finally, she reached the passage that mattered.

"Due to the circumstances of this proceeding and the service performed by the Maquis crew of the _Val Jean _aboard the _USS Voyager _during her time in the Delta Quadrant, and the service that was done by that same ship in preventing the Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, all charges but one have been dropped. That charge, defection to an enemy in a time of war, is directly solely to Lieutenant Commander Chakotay. The other defendants may step back." Louvois' voice was steady and even.

Owen's mind stopped for a second. _Wait. She's charging him with defection after all? Not letting it go? _His eyes snapped to Janeway who was wearing a face of stone, but he noted that she was standing on the balls of her feet, as if she was ready to do something about this… catastrophe. _Katie, please don't do something stupid._

He listened in shock as Captain Louvois sentenced Chakotay to three years in New Zealand, his face dropping into a look that reflected his complete and utter shock. _This… but…_

He watched, eyes wide and scared as Janeway strode forwards and began to speak. _She doesn't have the right to speak now. The hearing is over! What does she think she's… oh no…_

He watched as Janeway declared her opposition to this ruling and begged her crew not to do anything rash. _You're asking your crew not to do something stupid, but what are you about to do, Katie?_ Then he watched as Janeway reached up and kissed her first officer solidly on the mouth, in full view of every media camera and Federation news outlet on the planet. He sat, heavily, as they both vanished, Chakotay's arms wrapped around the admiral.

His mind was gibberish. _They're a couple? Why didn't I know? Did anyone know? Where are they going? How long have they had this planned? _From the look his son was wearing on the other side of the room, gathered with a group of _Voyager's _crew, he suspected Tom was as in the dark as he was. _I don't understand…_

Next to him, Admiral Alynna Nechayev wasn't so immobilized by her shock. She was talking roughly into her combadge. "They were beamed to a shuttle in orbit? The _Delta Flyer? _Get DeSoto on the line and scramble the _Hood, _they can't outrun her. I understand, Commander, but get it done, I don't care whether or not the ship's whole crew is on Risa, I want her active and flying, do you understand? I want that shuttle and her crew in Starfleet custody and I want it done _now, _mister. Do whatever you have to." Her combadge conversation ended and Nechayev sighed. "I can't believe this is happening." She tapped her combadge. "Scramble the _Prometheus _as well, just in case things don't work out for DeSoto."

* * *

In the cockpit of the _Delta Flyer, _Janeway and Chakotay had taken their posts. 

"You know, I haven't done something this incredibly stupid since I lost my heart," Jean-Luc Picard said wryly, his command voice still present despite his lack of a uniform. "Now, let's get out of here before they send the fleet after us." Picard turned back towards the helm. "Time to go, Number One."

"Aye sir." Will Riker tapped the helm console. "Moving out of Earth orbit at full impulse until we're clear of the sensor perimeter. Course is set for the demilitarized zone. We have a starship in pursuit – it's the _Hood._"

Ro took a seat behind Picard. "As expected. They won't be able to catch us," she said. "Now you're all Maquis." Ro laughed. "Imagine that."

"The _Hood _is hailing us," Data commented from his seat. "Should we respond?"

"No, Data," Picard said. "Everything we have to say will be better said by the events that take place in the next few minutes, not by any words that could be shared between Robert and us. Just keep us ahead of the _Hood _until we're clear of the sensor perimeter and then take us to transwarp. We have a rendezvous to make at Ronara Prime."

"Yes sir," Data said. "The _Hood _is attempting to get into range to engage a tractor beam. They are not charging their phasers."

Chakotay nodded. "No reason to strain themselves or risk hurting us. As far as they know, they've got the transwarp coil and there's no chance we can get away with only warp engines."

Ro grinned. "I'd love to see the look on DeSoto's face when we go to transwarp with his engine when he thinks it's still in his engine room."

Picard shook his head. "Robert's good people. He'll get over it quickly enough."

Janeway grimaced. "I hope so."

* * *

DeSoto was sitting with his back straight on his bridge. He turned sideways to face Neeley. "Lieutenant, are we in range to engage the tractor beam yet?" 

Neeley shook her head. "No sir. We won't get into tractor range until after we've cleared the sensor perimeter." She glanced up. "We're going to have to use the transwarp drive to catch them, sir. They'll go to warp as soon as they're clear of the perimeter."

DeSoto shook his head. _Janeway isn't stupid. She knew all about this ship and the transwarp engine and she knows as well as I do that she can't get away at warp. She's got to have something up her sleeve, but what is it? _"Stay on your toes, Lisa. Janeway has got to have something planned."

"Aye, sir." Neeley watched as the distance fell between the _Hood _and the _Delta Flyer. _"They're closing on the edge of the sensor perimeter. I'm reading a slight buildup in their warp core. They're preparing to go to warp."

"Helm, follow them. Keep hailing, maybe we can talk them out of this." DeSoto stroked his chin thoughtfully, watching the shuttle racing away from his ship on the viewer. Then, the _Delta Flyer's _warp engines flashed a bright blue and the ship vanished – but not into warp. A blue tunnel of energy appeared for an instant and then they were gone. DeSoto's heart stopped. _They went into transwarp. How could they have possibly gone into transwarp! _"Helm!"

"I can't sir! The engine isn't responding! I don't understand, all systems read nominal!"

DeSoto sank into his chair and the bridge went silent. At tactical, Neeley had her head in her hands. "Last night," she whispered in dismay. "The sensor ghosts. They _were _a distraction." She turned to DeSoto. "But if they have the transwarp coil, then what the hell is the thing we've got in Engineering?"

"A copy? A duplicate? It doesn't work, whatever it is." DeSoto tapped his combadge. "DeSoto to Engineering, pull the transwarp coil and take it apart. I want to know everything about it in ten minutes, do you understand?" He sighed as he closed the channel. "I knew she had to have something up her sleeve."

Neeley was quiet. "I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have left the coil yesterday when we got those anomalous readings. It's my fault."

DeSoto shook his head. "She had full access to the ship, Lisa. She helped us install the thing for chrissake. I doubt there was anything you could have done, they would have just changed their plan and done it some other way." He smiled at the empty space on the viewscreen. "Well done, Admiral," he said under his breath. "Well done indeed." _But Janeway stole the coil before she knew what the results of the hearing would be. That's pretty presumptuous. Why would she be so confident that she'd need it?_

Neeley winced as her panel started blinking. "The _Prometheus_ is hailing. Admiral Nechayev wants to know what's going on."

DeSoto sighed. "This should be fun."

* * *

A little while later, DeSoto was sitting in his Ready Room, wondering what he should do now. Admiral Nechayev was furious, but she had no idea what to do about all of this either – the _Delta Flyer _was simply gone and there was no way to track them through transwarp. Moreover, DeSoto's crew had gone through the sensor logs thoroughly and found something that suggested the _Delta Flyer _had cloaked as she was entering the conduit. _A transwarp coil and a cloaking device. I wonder where she got the cloak?_

The room buzzer sounded. "Yes, come in."

Neeley strode in. In her hand she held a padd. "Engineering just finished disassembling the fake transwarp coil. They found a relatively large chunk of memory storage and inside was a message. It's got your name on it, sir, and it's locked with a code forty-seven."

"A code forty-seven? Captain's eyes only?" DeSoto frowned. "Leave it here."

"Aye, sir." Neeley spun on her heels and left after dropping the padd on his desk. DeSoto picked up the padd and eyed it slowly. _An apology maybe? But why a code forty-seven? No one but me can open this transmission and there's no higher emergency channel._

DeSoto pressed the activation button. The computer's voice spoke up. "This is an emergency communiqué. It is not to be discussed with fellow officers unless deemed absolutely necessary. There will be no computer record of said transmission."

"Understood," DeSoto responded.

"Proceed with voiceprint identification," the computer instructed.

DeSoto raised an eyebrow. "DeSoto, Robert. Captain, _USS Hood_."

"Voiceprint verified," the computer confirmed. On the small screen on the padd, a face that he did not expect to see popped up.

"Hello, Robert," said the serious face of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. "There's something you need to know." DeSoto sank backwards into his chair in shock. _Jean-Luc? But what does he have to do with all of this? _DeSoto watched calmly as the message played, the facts beginning to add up in his mind as Picard apologized for the deception and explained the situation.

As Picard finished, DeSoto stopped, thinking. Then he slowly tapped his combadge. "DeSoto to Neeley."

"_Neeley here," _she responded from the Bridge.

"I want you to look up an officer for me. Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. I want him here on the _Hood _immediately. Pick an excuse, something no one will question. Then we need to talk."

"_Sir?"_ Neeley's perplexed voice came back over the com.

"You have your orders, Lieutenant," DeSoto responded harshly, cutting the channel. Then he smiled widely down at the padd, restraining a laugh. _Jean-Luc, you have completely lost it this time. And Janeway along with you. This should be fun._


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

The _Delta Flyer _dashed through space, surrounded by a blue tunnel of light and energy that accompanied a transwarp flight. From the cockpit of the _Flyer, _her occupants could see no stars, no space – just an amazing whirl of blue that surrounded the ship and went for an infinity both ahead and behind.

Those who had never experienced transwarp flight were enthralled. "It is amazing," Riker said in awe from the helm. "It's an experience so different from warp travel, but the fundamental principles are the same."

From his post above the helm, Data said, "In fact, Commander, the principle of the transwarp drive is slightly different from the principle of warp drive. Instead of creating a bubble of subspace around the ship, the transwarp coil focuses subspace into a tunnel, removing the vessel entirely from real space."

Riker smiled. "I know the principle, Data. But on paper it sounds like a really minimal change – a simple calculation – but in reality it is so very different, both to achieve and to experience." He shook his head. "Warp travel will never be completely obsolete, but I wonder how many young Starfleet officers will get used to this psychedelic version of space travel instead of the streaking stars."

"Hopefully we'll get a chance to find out," Janeway said. "In the meantime, we've got friends to meet at Ronara. We need a medic for one, just in case we run into trouble."

"Trouble. We've already run into trouble, Admiral," Ro commented sarcastically. "The question isn't whether or not we'll run into more, it's how much we're going to find at the end of this outrageous trip."

"Well then, Lieutenant, our rendezvous on Ronara will make sure that we can get ourselves back out of it again," Janeway answered.

* * *

"Welcome to Ronara Prime," Riker said as they dropped out of the transwarp corridor and into normal space. The stars blinked at the ship and Riker sighed. "I was a little nervous that we'd never see real stars again."

Janeway grinned. "The engine works, Commander, don't worry about that." She worked on her control panel. "Chakotay, can you find us someplace out of the way to put down? Close enough to the main city to be in walking distance, preferably." She sat back and glanced at Picard. "Time to change out of these uniforms," she said, gesturing to herself and Chakotay. She stood and headed for the back.

Chakotay stood and moved up to the helm, next to Riker. "There's a clearing that seems relatively abandoned about six miles outside of the city limits," he said, pointing to the computer screen. "It's the best place I see."

Riker nodded, setting the course, then he glanced up at Chakotay. "I've been meaning to ask you," he said, his focus still on the panel. "How long have you and Janeway been involved?"

Chakotay glanced down at the back of Riker's head. "She said it was a recent development," he said. "It is."

"That's not what I meant," Riker said. He turned the chair so he was facing Chakotay. "Deanna and I have been in a relationship for just the last few years, after a very interesting mission which brought out some long repressed feelings. But we'd been involved for long before that – despite all that happened between us, we always gravitated back to one another eventually." He turned back to the console. "There are different levels of involvement," he said. "What with her being your superior and you two being on opposite sides…"

Chakotay nodded. "Since we met." Riker turned back with a grin and a raised eyebrow, and Chakotay shrugged. "It would never have happened then. She had a fiancée, I was the enemy, and she was my direct superior. Both of us were… well aware of the responsibilities that came with our positions in the command staff and as the senior officers of a ship that was lost as far away from home as we were." Chakotay shrugged. "I have to go get out of this uniform," he said under his breath, leaving Riker alone at the conn.

Ro replaced him down over Riker's shoulder. "What was _that _all about?"

Riker glanced at her, wary. "Women and relationships."

"Ah," Ro said with a laugh. "I won't touch that one." Riker silently sighed in relief, not wanting to have that conversation with Ro. "But I have another question for you that you're not going to want to answer." Riker kept his focus on the ground as the _Flyer _neared the clearing that Chakotay had pointed out, the ship settling down to rest. Ro grasped the chair for leverage as he settled the ship to the ground, then he turned to face her. "What were you going to say about me?"

"What?" Riker asked, confused.

"Ten years ago, Riker. When Geordi and I were thought dead, but were wandering the ship out of phase with the universe? You asked to be the person who would give my eulogy. You said it 'wasn't easy' to come up with what you were going to say. And then Geordi tells me that the _Enterprise _crew held a memorial service for the Maquis and you spoke about me?" Ro glared at him. "What did you say, Will?"

"Ah…" Riker glanced up at the back of the cockpit, looking for help. Data was oblivious and Picard wasn't paying any attention. Janeway and Chakotay were nowhere to be seen. He turned back to Ro, one hand lightly stroking his beard. "Can I get back to you on that one?"

At the back, Janeway and Chakotay emerged, wearing civilian clothing. "All right, people, time to find Tuvok and the Doctor and then find out way into Ronara's database for information on Rebecca Sullivan. Shall we?"

"Yes!" Riker exclaimed, a bit too excitedly, pushing past Ro.

She glared after him. "I suppose I'll _never _know."

* * *

"This bar brings back bad memories," Ro said quietly to Picard as they walked in. She gestured subtly to a table on the far right. "We sat there and discussed the mission that ended in my betrayal." She pointed at the bar. "That's where I got recruited by the Maquis." She sighed. "I need to put the past behind me."

"The past is what makes you who you are," Picard whispered. "Don't forget it, but always keep it in perspective."

Behind them, Janeway came in, wearing a hooded cloak that shielded her face. She glanced around the bar before picking out a pair of people that looked out of place, sitting in a booth on the far left. "They're here," she whispered. "Picard, Ro with me. The rest of you, look innocuous."

"What I do best," Riker said with a grin, moseying over towards the bar with Chakotay in tow.

Janeway slipped into the booth next to Tuvok, taking a second to rest her hand on the Vulcan's shoulder and squeeze. "It's good to see you, Tuvok." Picard and Ro slid in next to the Doctor.

"And you, Admiral," Tuvok said. "The Doctor gave me your message. I understand the mission risks and requirements."

"Bless you, Tuvok," Janeway said. She turned to the Doctor. "Ready to get court-martialed?"

"As I'll ever be," he said shortly. "Admiral, thank you. Whether or not all this works out, you've given me and all holograms a fighting chance for rights. But Admiral, whether or not that was even an issue, I'd still be here supporting you. You're the captain, and you always will be."

Janeway smiled, a sad and soulful smile that reached her eyes. "Thank you, Doctor. That means more than you will ever know." She pointed at her companions. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the _Enterprise, _and Lieutenant Ro Laren – a former Maquis."

Tuvok nodded at each of them. "Captain Picard, it is an honor to meet you. Lieutenant Ro, it is agreeable to see you again."

Ro raised an eyebrow at him. "You were a Starfleet spy? I wouldn't have pegged you for the type."

Janeway interrupted. "Let's save the Maquis reunion for another time, shall we? Tuvok, do you have the information we need?"

"Yes. The computer access station that you need to access this planet's primary computer system is two blocks down on the same road this bar is on." He reached into his pocket and removed a Starfleet-issue padd. "This contains the passcodes required to get into the system and search for whatever information it is that you require." Tuvok stood. "The Doctor will be remaining here with you, I understand. I will return to Vulcan and await your signal."

Janeway hugged the Vulcan, who stood stoically and endured it. "Thank you, Tuvok. Good luck."

"And you, Admiral. Live long and prosper," Tuvok started the traditional Vulcan farewell, holding his hand out, splitting his fingers apart.

"Peace and long life, Tuvok." Tuvok slipped anonymously out of the bar. Janeway turned to her companions. She handed the padd with the passcodes to Ro. "Ro, take Data and Riker to the computer facility. Find anything you can about Rebecca Sullivan, preferably her last known residence. Starfleet didn't keep track of her after her release."

"Right," Ro nodded. She slipped out of the booth and over to the bar, tapping on Riker's shoulder. Both of them made their way out of the bar while Chakotay moved to join them at the booth.

He slid in beside Janeway. "An interesting place they have here," he commented quietly. He glanced at the Doctor, who was eyeing them both. "Yes, Doctor?" Chakotay asked.

"Why did you not tell any members of your crew that you had begun a relationship?" the Doctor asked. "I didn't know, and from the reactions I saw of them on Jake Sisko's last broadcast, I gather that no one else did either."

Janeway and Chakotay glanced at each other. "It wouldn't have been appropriate until after the Maquis trial was finished," Janeway admitted. She glanced at Chakotay. "Tuvok didn't mention anything about it. I think he might have guessed. He always did know more than anyone thought he did."

"Oh. Well… may I be the first from _Voyager's _crew to offer my congratulations to you both. Admiral, Commander. I am very happy for you both," the Doctor said with a wide smile.

Picard stood. "I'm sure they are pleased to have your approval, Doctor. But right now, we need to get out of here before we attract some unnecessary attention. Let's get back to the _Flyer._" Janeway and Chakotay nodded, and the four of them departed, glancing at each of the other patrons, headed back to their shuttle.

* * *

"Data, where exactly are we going?" asked Riker, Ro leading them both with the map that Tuvok had left on the padd.

"The city has a primary computer access facility managed by Starfleet. It contains records for the Demilitarized Zone and may have the information we need on the location of Rebecca Sullivan that the records on Earth did not," Data answered. "Commander Tuvok has provided passwords we will need to access the records." Ro turned back to them both, indicating they should be quiet. They walked up close to her.

"It's over there," she said quietly. "I see two Starfleet security guards on the outside, we can bet there are at least five inside." She paused, taking a second to glance at the padd and then back at the compound. "It says there's a staff of about twenty. How do you want to do this?"

Riker shrugged. "The easy way. We ask." He gestured to Data. "Keep your head down, Ro. You're still a wanted criminal. Come on, Data."

Ro shook her head. "They're still looking for me?"

Riker glanced at her. "Remember that Janeway used your name during her staged breakout from San Francisco. I really doubt that Starfleet Security overlooked that. I wouldn't be surprised if your face is on every most wanted bulletin from here to Cardassia."

Ro grimaced. "Great." Both of them stopped and watched as Data walked up to the security guard.

"Excuse me, sir, but I require access to this facility," Data said. "Is there a sign-in area where I can be given temporary access?" The security guard looked at him, and then gestured behind him to a door that led to a small room. Data turned and waved Riker and Ro forward, Ro being careful to shield her face from the guards. They slipped into the room, the guard's eyes following them suspiciously.

"I don't think this is going to work," Ro whispered harshly.

Data ignored her, signing a name on a computer screen. Riker glanced over his shoulder. "Sherlock Holmes? Data, I don't think that is going to fool anyone."

Data continued forward into the facility. "It does not need to fool them, merely allow us access." The three of them crouched in the room, a line of computer terminals on one wall. Data's hands flew over the computer, inputting Tuvok's codes and downloading the information he needed. "Processing… strange. This computer terminal is refusing my access. It accepted the passwords."

Riker glanced around him and his eyes caught two Starfleet security guards in the next room, looking at them through the window. "I think they're on to us, Data," he whispered. He took a second to look at them again and noted that they were both pointing at Ro. "Hurry Data, they've seen Ro."

Ro slouched down next to the computer, pulling a phaser out of her belt. "We're going to have to fight our way out of this," she said as she fiddled with the phaser, setting it to a high stun setting.

Riker crouched next to her, setting his own phaser. He tapped his combadge quietly. "Riker to _Delta Flyer,_" he whispered. "Captain Picard, come in." They waited with bated breath, but all that came back was static.

Data turned to them. "They have terminated my computer access and are jamming communications and transporters. I was unable to access the files on Rebecca Sullivan. They are also preparing to lock down the facility. We must leave now."

Riker nodded quickly, glancing around the room and picking out the goldshirts. "Which way, Data?"

Data removed a tricorder from his pocket and analyzed it for a few seconds. Then he leaned in close. "There is a back entrance, but there are guards between us and it. The front entrance is also guarded, but more heavily. Either way, we must fight our way out of this facility."

Ro swore. "I should have stayed behind," she said. "_Damn _it." She glanced up and over the computer as two guards from the front began to move in towards them. "All right, Data. Let's get out of here." Nodding once at Riker, both of them popped up from behind the terminal and shot one of the two guards. The beams of energy struck each of the first two guards and they fell to the floor.

"This way," Data said. Moving in a low crouch, the three of them moved down the hall towards the back door. Phaser fire began to fill the facility as the guards responded to the shooting, blasts of energy striking computer interfaces. One computer exploded as it was struck by a phaser blast. Ro spun behind her, working on instinct, and shot a guard who had popped out behind them just as he loosed a blast of his own which buzzed above Riker's head.

"Thanks," Riker said. Then he popped his head out to respond to the fire that was still coming after them. At the end of the row they were in, Data pointed to a door.

"The back exit is through that room, Commander."

"All right, Data. You go first; Ro and I will lay down suppression fire. Once you're in there, get access to the computer system and create some kind of distraction before the whole city is after us."

"Yes, sir." Data ran forward in a crouch, firing his phaser as he moved. Ro and Riker both stood at once and fired random blasts of energy towards where the fire was coming from, pinning whoever was back there down for long enough for Data to get through. Then they both moved forward slowly.

In the next room through the door, Riker could see Data working at a computer. Suddenly, all the lights went out. "Go!" he hissed and both he and Ro moved into a sprint, diving through the door at the other end. Once they were inside, Data fired his phaser through the door they had come several times, stunning another guard, and then hit a control panel and the door slid shut.

"We must keep moving," Data said. "They have called for reinforcements from the primary Federation facility on this continent."

"They already outnumber us seven to one," Ro grumped. "Who do they think we are, anyway? Li Nalis reincarnated?" All three of them moved out of the small room and into a corridor that led towards a back entrance. Sprinting forwards, they burst out into daylight, phaser fire coming from above them, security guards with rifles making a last ditch attempt to capture them.

Riker slapped his combadge. "Riker to _Delta Flyer, _we need an emergency beam out!" Grabbing Ro and Data, he thrust them into a collection of bushes to give them a little cover as he heard numerous footsteps coming down the path behind them, and then, to his great relief, he felt his body dematerialize.

* * *

"I still think you've lost your mind, La Forge," DeSoto said flatly. "And I suspect Lisa is never going to forgive you for stealing the transwarp coil out from under her nose."

"I understand, sir, but you have to believe me," Geordi said, meeting DeSoto's eyes levelly. "We meant no harm to you or the _Hood. _I served aboard this ship under you for years, sir. I wouldn't do anything to damage her."

He stopped as DeSoto's combadge crackled. "_Neeley to DeSoto, we've just received a message from Starfleet Security. Ro Laren has been spotted in a facility on Ronara Prime attempting to access the Federation computer mainframe with two unidentified accomplices. Admiral Nechayev has ordered us to Ronara to pursue."_

DeSoto took a long look at La Forge. Then he nodded, slowly. "All right, Lisa. I want you to find two more officers on Earth – Doctor Beverly Crusher and Commander Deanna Troi, and bring them both aboard. As soon as we have them, set a course for Ronara at maximum warp." He glanced at La Forge. "Will this interfere with your plans?"

Geordi shook his head. "No, sir. It should actually be beneficial."

"Good." DeSoto sighed. "Well, this is certainly more interesting than a six month shakedown cruise."

* * *

"So, we don't have the information we need and I highly doubt we'll be able to get into another Federation facility again," Ro said. "I should have known better than to show my face in a Federation facility with so many guards."

Janeway sighed. "We need access to the Federation computer mainframe in this sector to find out what happened to Rebecca Sullivan," she said. "Does anyone have any ideas?" The room was silent as Picard and Riker glanced at each other, Data sat silently next to the Doctor, and Ro stood leaning up against the shuttle hull with her hands clasped together.

"Maybe I could try accessing the information," the Doctor said. "They would have no reason to suspect me."

"The problem, Doctor, is that they've certainly now voided the passcodes Tuvok acquired for us to use. We'd have to get new codes for access. It also won't take them long to realize the Ro's accomplices were both _Enterprise _crewmen and they'll void all of our authorization codes," Picard said. "We're going to need another access into the Federation computer mainframe, one that isn't exactly legal."

Ro suddenly burst out laughing. Everyone turned to her incredulously as she tried to recover her self-control. "I have…" she burst out laughing again, waving at them and trying to recover. Breathing heavily, she finally spoke clearly. "I have an idea," she said. "But I'm afraid it's going to cost a lot."

Data glanced at her. "We have no money, Lieutenant."

"Not money. Well, maybe, but I think I can avoid it. No, this is going to cost me my dignity," she said. The Doctor turned to Chakotay who shrugged, but Riker leaned in.

"Is that all? Can I watch?"

Ro shot him a dirty look. Then she sighed. "I need an open communications line to Deep Space Nine and some… more revealing clothing," she said flatly.

The other occupants of the room glanced at each other uncomfortably. The Doctor was the first to respond. "Revealing clothing? Why is that?" Riker and Picard shared a glance while Janeway looked at Chakotay dubiously.

Ro shrugged. "I'm going to seduce a Ferengi over subspace. It'll help speed up the process."

* * *

"You look good, Ro," Riker said, admiringly.

Ro glared at him. "Commander," she said sweetly, "Do you remember Commander Keiran MacDuff?"

Riker's face fell. "Yes," he said slowly.

"Good," Ro said. "So do I. And that memory is something I still treasure… forever," she said sarcastically. "Lay off." Riker nodded slowly and took a seat, being careful to look in the other direction.

Janeway leaned in towards Riker. "What was that all about?" she asked, curious. Riker looked up at her, his eyes flat and unfriendly. "Nevermind," Janeway said with a smile. "I'll just ask Ro later." She turned back to Chakotay. Riker sighed, muttering something under his breath.

"Let's just get this over with," Ro groaned. "Data, can you open a channel to DS9? The intended recipient is Quark, the station bartender." Data nodded and tapped his console and Ro put on her best fake smile as Quark's face appeared on the small screen she was sitting front of.

"_Hi _Quark," she said sweetly. "I was just thinking of you and decided to call. How _are _you?" Ro shifted so that she could be clearly seen from Quark's viewer.

"Hello there, whoever you are," Quark said, leeringly. "I remember you, you were the woman who threatened to kill me last week." He leaned in. "Do you know you're even more beautiful than I remember?"

Behind her Ro could hear Chakotay and Riker both begin to lose their composure, but a single look from Janeway shut them both up. Data looked on, curious, while the Doctor and Picard both stayed safely away, up near the front of the _Flyer, _talking quietly amongst themselves.

"You _know, _Quark, I think you're just about the handsomest Ferengi I've ever seen, and that saying a lot – you know how attracted I am to Ferengi." She smiled into the screen. "If you're willing to help me, just one more time, I might share my name with you."

"Ooh…" the Ferengi trilled his tongue, ogling Ro. "All right, but this time I get one of your names _first_, before I give you the information." He eyed her slowly. "Is this a secure channel?"

"Of course it is, you wonderful man." Ro tapped the side of her face. "All right. One name, and then the information, and then the second name. Sound fair to you?" She shifted her body again, drawing attention away from her face.

"Hmm… you have a deal!" Quark exclaimed. "Assuming this also buys me a visit and dinner – I'll even pay."

"How generous," Ro cooed at him. "My one name is Talia, it's pretty isn't it." She smiled into the camera, far too exaggerated to be real.

"It's very pretty, my dear. Is that your first name or your last name?" Ro shrugged, accentuating her bare shoulders. "Oh, I like you," Quark laughed. "Very well. What do you need to know?"

"Oh, nothing too important. I'm looking for an old friend of mine, Rebecca Sullivan." Her eyes widened into the screen. "She's pretty too, you know," she said, tapping her lip.

"I'll bet she is, with friends like you," Quark said leeringly. "Just a second, my dear Talia." Quark's face disappeared and she could hear his information datarods clinking together quietly. She sighed, and then Quark's face came back. "Here she is. Rebecca Sullivan – she's living on the Federation Hakton VII colony in the demilitarized zone." Quark grinned into the camera. "You'll find her in the main city there, my dear."

Ro smiled genuinely, for the first time during the whole exchange. "Thank you, Quark," she said. "I promise, you'll be well rewarded for your efforts." Then she cut the channel and her head fell back as she slumped in the chair. "I can't believe I just did that," she said.

Janeway handed Ro her Starfleet-issue uniform jacket, which she slipped on over her tiny shirt appreciatively. Janeway raised an eyebrow at Ro, questioningly. "What did you mean when you said he'd be well rewarded?"

Ro grinned wickedly. "Do you remember when he asked me if the transmission was secure?" she asked. Janeway nodded. "I lied."

* * *

Quark laughed as the screen went dark. _She cut me off again, and I don't even care! What a woman. _He chuckled happily as he went about putting away his illegal datarods and shutting down his illicit link into the Federation database. He whistled as he worked, as best he could whistle, thinking of Talia.

It was awfully late – Quark was being cautious, what with Kira always looking over his shoulder – and he had carefully secured his end of the transmission, protecting his link into the Federation database and his transmission to Talia. Suddenly, all the lights in the bar went off at once.

Fifteen security guards stormed into Quarks carrying phaser rifles. At the lead was Kira, wearing her grey-on-black Starfleet captain's uniform, smiling condescendingly at Quark. "What did I do?" Quark asked, cowering on the floor under a table as the guards all took aim.

Kira knelt down beside him. "I know as well as Odo did that you make all kinds of illegal transactions and have an illegal tap on the Federation database, but neither of us could ever _prove _it, Quark. You were always too cautious, too careful. Now I can." Kira smiled. "Take him to holding."

Quark stood up on his feet, waving his hands angrily. "I secured the transmission! There was no leak! You couldn't possibly know anything of the sort! You've been _illegally tapping my transmissions! _I'm going to call Starfleet Command and have your commission rescinded! I'll have you imprisoned! I'll call the Nagus, the Ferengi Alliance will not stand for this kind of mistreatment!"

Kira smirked widely. "Oh, I'd love to see that. Quark, who abused and tormented his little brother for all those years of his life, calling him now because his brother is the Grand Nagus to get him out of a well-deserved prison sentence? I don't think so, Quark. But, if you do, record it so I can keep a copy?" Kira smiled. "Maybe _you _secured the transmission, but did the person on the other end?"

Quark's hands fell down by his sides. "She set me up," he said, shocked. "I don't believe it."

"Oh, don't worry Quark," Kira said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not a long prison term. Only, say, a week in a holding cell, and then we'll send you back to your bar. Deep Space Nine wouldn't be Deep Space Nine without Quark's, after all."

"What about when I broke you out of prison when the Dominion was going to execute you?" Quark demanded. "You _owe _me!"

Kira pointed at the security guards, who moved in to take him away. She leaned in. "That's why it's a week and not ten years, Quark," she whispered. Then she turned her back and strolled out of Quarks.

The guards took Quark and threw him into a cell. "I don't believe it, thrown into a holding cell and there's not even Odo to keep me company," he complained. He sighed, thinking of Talia. "I can't believe she set me up."

He lay back on the hard bunk, staring at the ceiling. "When I get out of here, I'm calling my brother and having him add a two-hundred and eighty-sixth rule to the Rules of Acquisition," he said to himself. "Never help a Bajoran female. They might be pretty, but they've all got the soul of a FCA tax collector." He sighed, shaking his head. "He's married to one, after all. He'll understand."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Long gone from Ronara Prime, the _Delta Flyer _was on her way to Hakton VII in search of Michael Eddington's wife, Rebecca Sullivan. She represented the only chance they had to find out where Eddington had put the missile launch site – if he had even constructed one.

The Doctor was taking the time to chat with Data. Both of them being artificial, and the Doctor's own hearing on the state of his rights coming up – something that Data had gone through many years before – there was much the Doctor wanted to know. "Tell me, Data," the Doctor questioned, "have you ever considered that a hologram might attain sentience?"

"Yes, quite seriously," Data responded. "Are you familiar with Moriarty?"

"Yes!" the Doctor exclaimed. "That's right, he was aboard the _Enterprise! _Harry Kim once mentioned him when a character on our holodeck was possessed by an alien."

"Ah," Data responded. "In that case, during my trial, one of the points that arose was whether or not I fell under the category of a sentient being. Commander Bruce Maddox provided a definition of sentience that included intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. After our second encounter with Professor Moriarty, I applied these criteria to him. He was obviously intelligent; he managed to take over the _Enterprise _without difficulty. He quickly gained self-awareness of his situation and what and where he was. The final criterion – consciousness – is not one I was able to answer to my satisfaction. Was he sentient?"

"I see," the Doctor said.

Data turned to the Doctor. "Captain Louvois, in her deciding statement at my hearing, said, 'We have been dancing around the basic issue. Does Data have a soul? I don't know that he has. I don't know that _I _have.' I also cannot say with certainty that I have a soul. Captain Louvois gave me the opportunity explore that question for myself, instead of having a scientist make the decision for me, and for that I am grateful."

The Doctor nodded. "I understand, I think."

Commander Riker had been listening covertly from above them. "You know, Data, Professor Moriarty wasn't the only sentient hologram that we encountered on the _Enterprise. _He wasn't even the first."

Both Data and the Doctor turned to Riker. "Commander?"

Riker laughed lightly. "Less than six months into the _Enterprise's _maiden tour – the Galaxy-class _Enterprise, _of course – there was an incident where a hologram was created in order to… distract me… for a long period of time. Minuet. She was an incredible _woman_, something I would never have believed was a hologram. She too was intelligent and self-aware." Riker shrugged. "Once that mission was over, I went back to the holodeck and it wasn't her anymore. It looked like her, it sounded like her, but it wasn't her."

Both the Doctor and Data looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean, sir?" asked Data.

"She didn't have the personality – she was flat. She couldn't respond to questions and stimuli, she didn't know anything about what she was and where she was – I guess what I'm getting at, Doctor, is that once a hologram becomes aware that it _is _a hologram, it gains more than just that knowledge. Knowing what you are gives you a chance to become more than you are – to work to change and better yourself." Riker grinned and slapped the Doctor on the shoulder. "Once the hearing comes up, my friend, whoever is the judge will have no recourse but to grant you the right to choose your future, as it was given to Data."

"Well, thank you sir," the Doctor exclaimed. "That makes me feel better about my chances."

Data nodded at the Doctor. "Doctor, Captain Louvois will serve as your advocate when the hearing comes. That is the primary reason she agreed to help us with this mission, despite great personal cost."

"It seems I owe Captain Louvois a great personal debt," the Doctor admitted.

"As do I," Data said. He turned back to his station. "We have arrived in the Hakton system. We will be at Hakton VII in five minutes."

Riker nodded, standing. "I'll get Captain Picard and Admiral Janeway. Then we'll go hunting for this Rebecca Sullivan." He grinned. "So the search continues."

* * *

The _Flyer, _cloaked and hidden in orbit around Hakton VII, was floating up and above the primary city on that world. On board, the crew of the _Flyer _was trying to determine where exactly they should look for Rebecca Sullivan – the city had a population of over a million. 

"Data, just hook into their database. We won't be here for long," Ro said. "Let's just decloak and ask their computer. By the time system security realizes who we are, we'll be back under cloak and it won't be a problem anymore."

Picard glanced at Janeway, who nodded. "All right, Lieutenant. Data, decloak the ship." Data pressed a button and the lights on the _Flyer _went up in intensity as she shimmered back into sight, Data hurriedly querying the planet's computer database for the location of Rebecca Sullivan.

"I have found her. She lives on the eastern bank of the river that goes through the city, near the city's southern border. I have an address." Data quickly terminated his connection and recloaked the _Flyer, _then turned to his superiors. "How do we intend to recover the needed information from this individual?"

Ro glanced at Chakotay. "Chakotay and I are going to go ask her," Ro said. "We're fellow Maquis, she'll trust us, more or less. I need a datapad with a copy of Eddington's message, a phaser, and for you to keep a transporter lock on us in case system security is smarter than I think they are."

Data nodded. "Very well."

Janeway reached out to catch Chakotay's arm. "Be careful," she said quietly. "Don't get yourself into any trouble." He nodded and then turned to Ro.

"Come on, Ro. We don't have time to waste lingering around up here."

* * *

Ro and Chakotay walked through the streets. The city was an old one – or at least gave the appearance of being old. The streets were paved with stone and the people seemed to prefer walking to other means of transportation. Ro stumbled on a mislaid stone, but held her balance. Both of them looked at the various houses, searching for the one they were searching for. 

"There," Ro pointed. "The next one on the left, the one with the green roof." It was an old house, with wood and stone construction. "What an ugly house," Ro said under her breath.

"Sullivan never did much care for aesthetics," Chakotay said. "You have the padd with the message?" Ro nodded. "Well, it's time to find out where we're going… and why," Chakotay said. Both of them walked up the stone path that led to the door, then Chakotay knocked heavily.

Thirty seconds later, Rebecca answered the door. It was flung open to the side and Rebecca stopped short, staring at them. "I was wondering if any other Maquis survivors would ever show up," she said flatly. "What do you want?"

Ro pushed into the house. "We need to talk about Eddington."

"Eddington is dead. He died on Athos IV, saving my life. There's nothing else that needs to be said." She looked at Chakotay. "I remember you. You disappeared seven years ago. Oh, I see, you're the Maquis captain who was broken out of prison a few days ago." She eyed him. "You've become quite the minor celebrity, you know."

Chakotay sighed. "Do me a favor, and don't tell anyone that I'm here, will you?"

Rebecca shrugged. "I hold no great love for the Federation. I'm not about to do them any favors out of the goodness of my heart." She took a seat and crossed her legs, looking at Ro. "So, you were going to ask me about Michael?"

Ro pressed the play button on the padd and handed it to Rebecca. "This is an automated message. Volume Five, Book Four. Repeat, this is an automated message. Volume Five, Book Four," the padd said to Rebecca, who nearly dropped it in shock.

"Michael…" she whispered. She turned back to Ro. "Where did you get this?"

Ro shrugged. "I got it in the Badlands, on a secure Maquis channel. I'm here to ask you where it was sent from so I can go there and stop whatever it is that's happening there."

Rebecca was staring at the padd. "Volume Five, Book Four," she said quietly. "Michael always did love _Les Miserables_. That part of the book was… Javert's suicide. Yes?" Ro nodded. "So this message means that the missile silo has been activated." Rebecca frowned. "Ro, you were at the meetings we had on the topic. We decided _not _to construct the missile silo. We never built it."

Ro glanced at Chakotay. "So Eddington didn't build it in secret?" she asked.

Rebecca laughed aloud. "With what resources? We didn't have the money, materiel, or manpower to build a missile silo without the support of the entire resistance movement. We scrapped the idea and created that second plan – the one that saved my life and got Michael killed." She shook her head. "I don't know, Ro."

Chakotay spoke up. "If there was no launcher, then what happened to the warheads? Where were they stored – could they have been discovered by someone?"

Rebecca looked at him with scathing look. "They were on Athos IV, with the rest of us. They were there when we fell back to that world, they were there when we hid there, and unless someone stole them while my back was turned, they were still there when the Jem'Hadar arrived and slaughtered us. Why don't you ask the Jem'Hadar where they are now, I wasn't exactly in a position to take them with me when we fled in Sisko's runabout."

Chakotay and Ro shared a grim look. "The Jem'Hadar must have found them," Ro said. "That means the Cardassians knew they were there. This means Starfleet wasn't involved after all."

Chakotay sighed. "So much for all our sneaking around… although if it is Cardassians, they probably still have intelligence resources in Starfleet."

Ro was deep in thought. "The Jem'Hadar wouldn't have cared about those missiles," she said. "They were no good to them, they might have just left them there." She paused. "Or _maybe _one of their Cardassian allies _asked _them to leave the warheads in place, so they could come back for them later."

Chakotay winced. "Whoever it was probably got killed during the war, right?"

Ro shook her head. "Are you willing to take that chance, Chakotay? Someone sent off this activation warning. I don't know why they did, or from where, but someone did it and they did it for a _reason._ Right now, they best we've got is that the missiles were still on Athos IV when the Maquis were evacuated, which means they were in the hands of the Cardassians."

Chakotay nodded slowly. "I guess we're going to Athos IV," he said. "It's the only option we've got at the moment."

Rebecca was looking from one to the other. "You people are insane," she said flatly. "There's nothing left on Athos IV but a bunch of Maquis corpses and whatever booby-traps the Jem'Hadar left behind for tourists."

Chakotay nodded. "Perhaps so, but we've come this far." He tapped his combadge. "Chakotay to _Delta Flyer,_ Ro and I are finished here. Beam us up."

* * *

"The Cardassians. If it is them, it's probably a rogue element, I can't imagine their government would sanction something of this nature, not after what happened in the last war." Picard said once Ro and Chakotay were finished with their debriefing. He turned to Janeway. "It seems you were right, we may well have bitten off more than we can chew this time." 

Janeway nodded. She turned to Ro. "Lieutenant, set a course to Athos IV, but don't engage just yet. I have a subspace transmission to send first." She glanced at Picard. "We're going to need that backup plan, it seems." Picard nodded and Janeway walked over to the operations console, bringing up the communications system. She typed in a four-word message.

_Tuvok: Athos IV. Kathryn._

She pressed the transmit button, then looked up to meet the grim eyes of Chakotay. He nodded once, and Janeway stood, looking down at the helm. Then she tapped Picard's shoulder and nodded. "Done."

Picard glanced at Ro, who was looking up at him. "Engage."

* * *

The Badlands were beautiful in the same way a thunderstorm was. Above and below the _Delta Flyer _were giant flows of superheated plasma, flowing along unpredictable courses because of gravitational currents and turbulence. Between the flow above and the flow below were giant plasma streams, tornadoes that swayed in unpredictable courses, stretched by their apertures on the top and bottom storms. 

It was a colorful place – one could not see the fateful depths of deep space or the small pinpricks of light that represented distant stars in the Badlands. Instead, the bright orange, red, and yellow of plasma storms surrounded everything that was in the Badlands, from starships to star systems.

It was an unpredictable place, undulating with deadly streams of white-hot, blazing fire and the silent blackness of gravity that would reach out and grab unsuspecting vessels. Kathryn Janeway had only been here once – that fateful mission which had brought _Voyager _to Ocampa. To the Maquis, it had been a haven – protection from enemies who had the power to defeat everything but the immutable strength and will of nature.

Ro had been stranded on a world in the storms for the last five years, cut off from the universe. Now she had returned, accompanied by Starfleet's finest, but she was not on her way back to that small, hidden refugee colony whose atmosphere mingled with the deadly plasma, but instead to Athos IV, a cold, barren, worthless rock that had nothing to offer except sanctuary to those on the run for their lives.

Ro pointed out the main window as they closed on the world that appeared a solid brown and gray amongst the background of the colorful storms that raged through this system. Plasma streams stormed on either side of the _Flyer _as they fell into a standard orbit. "Athos IV," Ro said flatly. "The most worthless rock in the quadrant." She glanced at Picard. "We can beam down, sir, if we get close enough to the surface, but we won't be able to beam back up through the ionization in the atmosphere due to the storms." As if to punctuate Ro's words, a streamer of plasma crashed down far too close to the _Flyer _for comfort.

Picard nodded. "All right. Ro, Chakotay, Janeway and I will go down to the surface. We'll leave you, Number One, Data, and the EMH up here to watch after the ship." He glanced at Riker. "Will, if you see _anything _out of the ordinary, come down and get us out of there. We haven't seen any activity, but sensors don't have much range in here and we can't exactly see anything on the surface either."

Riker nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Well," Picard said. "It's time to find out what exactly we've gotten ourselves into this time." Janeway jerked her head towards the transporter pad in the back.

"Wait," the Doctor called. "Let me check the sub-dermal implant one more time." The Doctor walked over to Janeway, turning her head to the side and examining a small incision adjacent to her ear – a minor surgical procedure he had done on the way from Hakton to Athos. He nodded. "It should function normally," he stated.

"Let's go," Janeway said, nodding at the Doctor. The four of them – hoisting phaser rifles – all stepped onto the pad. Janeway nodded at Riker. "Energize, Commander," she ordered.

* * *

Ro looked up as they materialized on the surface. Above them towered a large structure that had a slanting surface. She glanced at Chakotay. "This wasn't here," she said quietly. "We never had the resources to build anything like this structure." 

Picard took a step back, looking up. "It could be a missile launcher," he said. He glanced at Janeway, who nodded. Then both of them started to walk around the building, looking for an entrance.

On the far side of the building, Chakotay pointed out a flaw in the wall that looked like it might be an opening. Stepping back, he pointed his phaser at it and slowly burned his way down the side of the building. When he was finished, Ro stepped forward and pushed and part of the wall fell into with a loud bang, metal crashing against metal. Ro stepped into the building first.

It was pitch dark, but Ro use the light on her rifle to guide them. The walls where stark and plain, with no decoration of any kind. They came across another door that led to a large, towering room that stretched up to the sky.

Inside, resting against the walls, were multi-stage long-rang antimatter warheads. Picard reached out and touched one – it was cool – noting the Starfleet emblem that was displayed prominently on each one. It was the older, curved emblem, like Ro's combadge and unlike his own. "Old ammunition," Picard said quietly. "Developed during the first Cardassian war, it was probably slated for surplus. No one noticed when it went missing."

Janeway nodded, sweeping her rifle over the room, lighting up areas looking for a control panel. "At least we know it's still here." She glanced at Ro. "Is this all of it, or have some of them been removed?"

Ro shook her head. "I can't say for sure, but I think this is all of it," she responded. She shook her head. "I don't understand, who built this launcher, only to then abandon it like this after sending out an activation? It doesn't make any sense."

Chakotay stopped, his rifle pointing at a panel on the far side of the room. "Over there," he said. "I think I found a control panel." The four of them made their way over, shoes clinking loudly on the metal floor.

Ro rested her rifle down, leaning it up against the panel. "It's the missile launch control system," she said. She stopped, staring down at the controls. "Oh, prophets…" On the panel, there was a timer, steadily counting down. "We're here just in the knick of time," Ro said in astonishment.

Picard frowned. "What's the target?"

"I don't know," Ro said. "Chakotay, come here and help me turn these damn things off before something blows up." Chakotay settled his rifle down next to hers and then both of them worked to input their old Maquis clearance codes into the missile launch and guidance system.

"We're into the system," Chakotay said, he and Ro working desperately.

Janeway leaned over to Picard. "Does it seem awfully convenient to you that we've come all this way, found this launch site, abandoned but counting down with just a few minutes left before the warheads launch at an unspecified target?" she asked quietly. He met her eyes and nodded slowly, a suspicious look on his face.

"Something isn't right here," Picard answered. He frowned. "I feel like I've been saying or thinking that far too often, lately." Janeway grimaced, nodding her assent.

"Got it!" Ro exclaimed. "Now we need to input the proper cancellation code."

The computer, for the first time, spoke in a tenor, masculine voice. "Please enter proper passage for mission cancellation," it said. Ro turned to Chakotay in disbelief.

"I don't know Eddington's code system," she whispered in horror. "I never read _Les Miserables. _I have no idea what it would be."

Picard hurried over with Janeway in tow. "Has anyone here actually read Victor Hugo?" he asked quickly, eyes darting to the timer. Janeway nodded, but both Ro and Chakotay had blank looks.

Janeway glanced at Chakotay. "Here's a reason to read pre-Federation European literature," she murmured. She turned to Picard. "I hated _Les Miserables,"_ she said. "I never finished it."

Picard was thinking quickly. "_Les Miserables. _That was the story of Valjean." He glanced at Ro. "What happened in Volume Five, Book Four – the other code?"

Ro looked at him blankly. "Umm… an inspector, Javert I think Amaros said, committed suicide."

Picard began nodding. "Javert committed suicide because Valjean had the opportunity to kill him but showed mercy and let him go. Javert couldn't understand why a criminal would do such a thing and that led to his suicide. That's got to be it – having mercy for the enemy."

"All right," said Ro. "What volume and book was that in the story?"

Picard looked at her incredulously. "It's been thirty years since I read _Les Miserables, _Laren!" He stopped. "Data. I gave the book to Data. He might have it in memory." Picard tapped his combadge. "Data, do you have the works of Victor Hugo in your memory?"

"_Yes, sir. I have his entire collected works, including…"_

"Data, I need you to call up _Les Miserables _and skim it to find the passage in which Valjean lets Inspector Javert live instead of killing him when he had the opportunity."

"_Just a second, sir. Processing…" _Picard glanced at his companions nervously. Ro reached out and grabbed her rifle again, anxiously sweeping the light over the huge room filled with warheads. _"I have found it, sir. The event you requested took place in Volume Five, Book One, the nineteenth chapter which was entitled 'Jean Valjean Takes His Revenge.' In this chapter, Valjean has requested that he be the one permitted to execute…"_

"Thank you, Mr. Data," Picard said, cutting off the transmission. He turned to Ro and Chakotay. "Volume Five, Book One, the nineteenth chapter. _Go._" Ro and Chakotay immediately turned back, jabbing the data into the computer. As they pressed the button that entered the data, Ro sighed in relief as the timer that was slowly ticking down on the panel blinked out.

She turned, sighing. "I think it's finished," she said.

Then all the lights went out.

* * *

Riker turned to Data with one eyebrow raised. "Jean Valjean takes his revenge?" he asked. 

Data nodded. "Yes, sir. Inspector Javert had spent a good portion of his life hunting Valjean, the story's main character, for a crime he was innocent of. Instead of killing Javert for a lifetime of grief, he decided to let him live, and in doing so demonstrated that Javert had spent his life in a worthless, misguided endeavor. Thus, later in the story, Javert…"

Riker cut him off, looking at his now blinking control panel. "Data… I've lost contact with the away team. I don't see them on scanners and I can't raise them on the com. Can you see if you can do something about this interference?" Data nodded and turned back to his panel, working to overcome the sudden interference while Riker stared intently at the helm, trying to find out what had changed.

Behind them both, the Doctor gasped. "Commander Riker?" he said, pointing out the main window of the _Flyer. _"I believe we are no longer alone here."

Riker's head shot up, staring out towards the planet. In the background he could see the plasma streamers and the light produced by the storm, and he squinted as he saw a shape moving slowly adjacent to the planet. Then it moved from being in front of the storms out of obscurity, the darkness of the planet providing a background against which he could see the ship. "Data, is that what I think it is?" Riker asked.

Data nodded, his eyes trained on the vessel. "Yes, sir. A Cardassian Galor-class warship." He turned back to his panel. "They are closing on our location. I do not read an identity transponder." He turned back to Riker. "I suggest evasive maneuvers, Commander. Their weapons are charged and they are responsible for our loss of contact – they are jamming all communications."

"Right. Hang on, folks." Riker swung the _Flyer _around, weaving the ship back and forth as the Cardassians opened first, powerful blasts of yellow energy firing from the giant red disrupter battery on her bow. Riker spun the ship into a plasma storm, spirals of energy raging about them. The ship busted through a pocket of gas that swirled about, the gas sparkling as it was ignited by the plasma. "Catch me if you can…"

* * *

The chamber was pitch black. With his night vision, Picard could barely make out the shapes that represented enough explosive power to crack the crust of a planet resting motionless against the walls. All sound was amplified, echoing throughout and he could feel Ro moving restlessly, flashing the light on her rifle throughout the room. Janeway and Chakotay were still, waiting. 

Suddenly, a huge spotlight, focused and powerful, lit up. It hung from the ceiling so that it was about ten feet about their heads and they all shied away, shielding their eyes from its powerful glare. Then a second one, a few feet to the right and above. Ro's rifle snapped up, but there was nothing up there but the spotlights.

A third light lit up, further to the right and on the same level as the second light. Then a fourth, a few feet to the right and below. A chill went down Picard's spine. _There are four lights..._

Next to him, Ro was getting angry. "It was all a trap," she whispered violently. Picard settled her down with a hand, noting that Janeway and Chakotay had subtly moved closer together, both holding rifles at the ready.

"_Tell me,"_ a voice echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls so that the sound continued long after the words had stopped. _"How many lights do you see?"_

Ro snarled. "Who are you!" she shouted. Picard reached over and pulled her back.

"There are four lights, Madred," he called. "I still see four lights."


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Jean-Luc Picard had wondered, over the years, if this day would ever come. The memory of the time he had spent in Gul Madred's hands was a strong one, despite the drugs and pain that had accompanied it. One thing he did remember clearly was the end of his stay – his being perilously close to breaking under Madred's ministrations – and finding some salvation thanks to the timely arrival of Madred's compatriots, come to return him to the _Enterprise. _

Madred had been desperate to break him, he realized that later. He had truly been a master of the art of torture, but Picard had been a challenge – Madred called him the most interesting challenge he'd had in a long time – and Picard had beaten him. It had been a near thing and the battle of wills could have gone either way, but Picard had won.

Now, for whatever reason, Madred had returned. In a tall, box of a building filled with Federation antimatter warheads and a Cardassian launching system, the second act of their drama had snuck up on Picard.

_"It's curious, isn't it,"_ Madred's voice said. He wasn't present in the silo with Janeway, Ro, Chakotay, and Picard, but his voice echoed through the massive, mostly-empty structure. _"How truly stubborn you are. I suspect that when we last parted I almost had you beaten, despite your defiance. But, human, a victory is not a victory unless your opponent knows he is defeated. He should look up into your eyes and say, 'I am beaten!' You never did… and so we are here."_

Janeway and Chakotay had moved away from the launch computer, which had gone dark. They were both silently moving along the sides of the room in the light from the four bright, focused spotlights trained on the spot Picard was standing, searching for anything that might be useful. Finding nothing, they both slunk back towards Picard and Ro.

Ro wasn't taking this sudden turn of events as calmly. She stared, wild-eyed, up towards the lights as if Madred was among them. "_Who are you!"_

Madred's voice bounded down from up on high. _"Ah yes, the Maquis. You, Ro Laren, are the pawn. Picard is the king in this little chess match that has taken place the last few weeks, the starting move that unanticipated message you received on that humble little planet with the few Maquis who live. Admiral Janeway has become the queen – an unexpected prize, I admit. Chakotay, Riker, Data… they are the knights and the rooks. But you are the pawn. Manipulated, used, and ultimately worthless."_

Ro's eyes flew open. "You _knew _that we had survived?"

_"Of course I did. How could I have sent you that message with Eddington's face if I did not? I was the one responsible for the final crackdown on the Maquis, after all, and I would not make such a mistake. I served valiantly, the liaison to the Jem'Hadar, seeking out the pests who had pricked Cardassia until we bled and pushed us into the hands of the Dominion – into the hands of our executioner. Don't fool yourself, Maquis, you will pay for your crimes against Cardassia, but I had a more important task for you. Ro Laren, the former helmsman of the Enterprise and protégé of the illustrious man that stands beside you now – you should be grateful, I let the Maquis on that tiny world live so that, someday, all this would be set in motion."_

Picard reached over, resting a hand on Ro's arm to calm her down. He gestured to Janeway and Chakotay, who were again standing with him. If Madred were able to see them, he had said nothing when they went searching for an exit. Picard looked questioningly at Janeway.

On the way into the Badlands, the EMH had implanted a small, sub-dermal implant behind Janeway's ear – a device that allowed her to receive messages from the _Delta Flyer _without them being heard by others. Picard tapped the side of his ear, silently asking Janeway whether or not Riker and Data were in contact. Grimly, Janeway shook her head in the negative.

Picard grimaced. _We need to buy more time. Hopefully whatever they ran into in orbit wasn't enough to destroy them. _He realized the silence between him and Madred had stretched for a few seconds too long, and spoke up. "All this was for me, Madred? The message from Eddington, the construction of the missile silo, the errant chase we've gone on – everything was for my benefit?"

_"I knew that if she returned with news of a threat to the stability of the quadrant, you would come running, as you are want to do. So I gave her one and here you are, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, so predictable, so understandably noble. Comfort yourself in the knowledge that these missiles are, indeed, active and ready to launch. Your quest was not entirely in vain, as you can still stop them."_ On the other side of the room, one of the warheads lit up, tiny lights on the casing flashing and a quiet hum thrumming through the room, small vibrations shaking the floor. _"I intend to finish what I started, human. Tell me, how many lights do you see?"_

Picard and the others looked grimly at the missile. "What happens if I answer incorrectly, Madred? Do you launch that warhead at a planetary target, murder thousands of innocent civilians, just to get me to tell you what you want to hear?" The thrum, which had been quiet, suddenly increased in power and intensity, the vibrations in the floor causing Picard to grasp the console to maintain his balance.

_"I did not ask you for an analysis or a question, Picard. There is no right or wrong answer, you cannot answer incorrectly. Nor are there any innocents, everyone is guilty. I asked you only how many lights you see. Are there four? Or are there five?"_ Madred's voice was so steady, so deceivingly sane.

Picard stared up at the ceiling. _One, two, three, four. There are four lights. Madred wants me to say there are five, for me to admit he has beaten me. This time there is more than me at stake – this time there are thousands, tens of thousands of people perhaps, riding on whether or not Madred hears what it is he wants to hear. _"What is the target, Madred? Tell me that, and I will answer your question."

Madred laughed over the com. _"Very well, Picard. I thought that would be obvious – I could aim the missile at Bajor, I suppose, and kill thousands. Or perhaps annihilate one of their incredible archaeological sites, which I am sure you are fond of. Perhaps I will do that later. But for now, the target is the one my people missed the last time around. I think one warhead would be enough to kill the hundred Maquis on that tiny world Ro here came from. Maybe two."_

Ro gasped quietly, her fists clenching at her sides. Picard turned to her, grabbing her and turning her to face him. She nodded, slowly. _One missile would be enough. Madred said he let them live to get me here – now their usefulness is at an end. He will do as he claims. _"Very well, Madred. I am beaten," he called. "I look at the lights and I see five. There are _five _lights."

Madred's laughter echoed through the room. _"And so it is finished, Picard. I have won and you have lost, beaten, as you always should have been. But, we both know that you do not mean what you say. The last time we were together, you saw five lights, didn't you. Not four. Your spirit was broken, only your body resisted, clinging stubbornly to a number, such a small and insignificant thing. That time, I won, but you did not admit it. Right now, Picard, you say you have lost, but your spirit is unbroken. It is time for us to break it."_

The vibrations in the floor grew louder. The activated warhead was suddenly clasped by a large claw-like apparatus that lifted it clearly off the ground. Above them, the ceiling of the structure cleared away so that they could see the gray sky of Athos IV. The mechanical arm laid the warhead down on a small portable launch platform that pointed it up towards the sky. _"You say you are broken, Picard. By the time I am finished with you, you will be, and not only will you be broken, but you will tell me that you are."_

Ro took two steps forward, a soundless look of agony on her face. Chakotay and Janeway both grabbed her, dragging her away from the missile platform that was now roaring with sound that drowned out anything Madred might have been saying. The four of them watched, helpless, as the first warhead flashed into incandescence. The glare was too much and they shied their eyes away for an instant, and then opened them again to watch the engine of the missile as it rose steadily up into the fogged sky. "_No_," Ro gasped raggedly.

* * *

The _Delta Flyer _was on the run. The Cardassian warship had enough firepower to vaporize the little vessel, should she get a clean shot, and Riker was determined to see that it would not happen. For all her weapons, a Galor-class warship had no business being this far into the Badlands – how it had managed to get this far was a mystery to Riker. So he was maneuvering the _Flyer _deftly through the red and gold plasma storm, darting the ship around tornadoes of fire that had the capability to shear a ship cleanly in two. 

The Cardassians, for the most part, were not taking the bait. Instead, they were staying a good distance away from the _Flyer _and the storms, content to prevent the ship from returning to Athos IV. "Data, I need some way to get past that ship and back to the planet," Riker said, veering the ship through a pocket of gas that flowed over the cockpit, sparking against the _Flyer's _shields. "If there's a warship here in orbit, I don't want to know what they had waiting for the others on the surface."

Data was steeped over the console on the upper level, looking for something, anything, that might allow the _Flyer _to sneak back into orbit. A pattern in the plasma storm, a gravity current, _anything _that might be useful, but he was stymied. Next to him, the EMH wore a grim look that told the whole story.

The warship continued to fire their forward batteries, gouts of energy racing out towards the _Flyer. _At this range, her weapons weren't particularly accurate – but in the Badlands, even a bad shot could ignite a pocket of gas or be enough to nudge a ship into the path of a plasma current. Riker knew that this was a losing situation; he needed some way to level the odds. Weaving the ship around an eddy of burning plasma, his mind raced, searching for a solution.

A small alert light on his console grabbed his attention. "_Brace yourselves!_" he shouted. "_Torpedo proximity alert!"_ Swinging the ship to the side rapidly, he saw two blue flashes race over the _Flyer_, a distinct glow from the colors of the Badlands.

Data looked up. "Sir, Cardassian warships don't carry torpedoes of any kind," he said, his voice confused.

"Tell that to them," Riker retorted. "Those were _definitely _torpedoes!" Spinning the vessel around, he headed towards a more open area of the storm, a large cloud of inert gas framed by two plasma funnels on either side. "I'm heading for that gas cloud, Data."

"I am unable to get any sensor readings beyond it, sir," Data reported. His brow furrowed as he analyzed the data. "Sir…" The Doctor suddenly pointed at the window and all three of them looked up towards the red and gold cloud of gas.

Two more streaks of blue emerged from it, a pair of quantum torpedoes that burst through the gas, tendrils of color spiraling out behind them as they raced down towards the Cardassian warship. Then the cloud shattered, a deep cobalt glow becoming evident as the gas was caught in the two hurricanes of superheated plasma, igniting and burning with bright colors. From the cloud emerged the familiar lines of the _Hood_, the cobalt glow resolving into her warp nacelles, sparkles of red and gold shimmering around her as the edges of the plasma funnels struck her shields. She skimmed between eddies of energy, moving in to engage the Cardassians. "It would appear the Captain DeSoto was appraised of our location by Geordi and Commander Tuvok," Data said. The Cardassian warship turned away from the more insignificant target, moving to engage the _Hood._

"Thank God for backup plans. I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life," said Riker. "Hail the _Hood!"_ On the screen, DeSoto's face appeared, grim. "What took you so long?" asked Riker.

"Very funny, Will. You're one to be complaining about my timing, given that you stole my ship's engine," DeSoto said flatly. "But I've already given Deanna, Beverly, and Geordi that lecture. You go do whatever it is you need to do on the planet, we'll hold the Cardassians off."

"Sir, you know that there has never been a recorded engagement between starships in the Badlands that did not end with the destruction of both vessels," Data interjected.

DeSoto shrugged, his face expressionless. "So we'll have the honor of being the first. Let me worry about that, Mr. Data. You go get Jean-Luc and Janeway out of trouble." The screen went black and through the cockpit window they could see the first flashes of weapons fire as red and yellow blasts were exchanged, punctuated by flashes of blue from the _Hood's _torpedo launchers. The two ships swung slowly about, engaging in a deadly game of catch and mouse where they had to not only contend with each other, but the fickle and deadly nature of the Badlands.

"That man has the most impeccable sense of timing I've ever seen," Riker said with a laugh. "We'll come back to help him out, Data – those two ships will pound each other into scrap and neither one will ever get out of here if we don't – but we've got something to take care of on the planet first. Let's go."

* * *

"Watch those plasma currents, helm!" DeSoto barked as the _Hood _swerved past a pair of plasma streamers that could tear a starship in two. Below them and to the port side was the Cardassian cruiser, the ship's primary disrupter flaring as yellow blasts of energy slammed into the _Hood's _shields. DeSoto turned to his right, glancing at his passengers – Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher, and Geordi La Forge. "Doctor, we're going to be having casualties. Get down to sickbay, this ship is still understaffed." He turned to look at Geordi. "Geordi, go to Engineering. _Keep our shields up!_" Both officers acknowledged and hurried to the turbolift in the back of the bridge. 

Deanna looked at DeSoto. "Robert, it will be all right," she said, feeling his emotions swarm.

DeSoto took a second to glance at her. "Deanna, if something doesn't change, this battle is going to end up another example in an Academy class on what _not _to do in the Badlands," he said flatly. "We'll smash each other up so badly neither of us will ever get out of this storm. That's probably what they want." He turned away sharply as the ship shuddered, her port shields brushing along a plasma eddy. "Helm!"

"I'm sorry sir, this storm has a mind of its own!"

DeSoto turned back to Neeley. "At your discretion, Lisa. You may fire at will." Neeley nodded once, sharply, then turned back to her console.

She glanced at the tactical officer serving as her backup. "Ensign Sutter, I want you to hold the fire from forward launcher number two. Get a full volley of torpedoes ready for launch and then wait for my signal," she ordered, her concentration on trying to poke a hole in the Cardassian shields with the _Hood's _phasers.

"Sir, that will cut our effective firepower by almost a third," Sutter argued.

"Trust me, Ensign. There's nothing more frustrating then getting a golden opportunity in an engagement between two evenly matched starships but not being able to exploit it because both your launchers are reloading. Timing is everything." She paused, stabbing the fire button and the _Hood's _phasers flashed through the storm, striking the Cardassian ship on the top in the middle of her aft section. Then she turned back to Sutter. "Luck is a huge component in warfare, Ensign, especially in a battle as unpredictable as this one. But one thing experience teaches you is that you make your own luck."

The _Hood _skated past two plasma currents, the storm raging above and below her while the Cardassian warship tried to line her up for another shot. Their phaser fire had ignited several pockets of combustible gas and plasma and all around both ships space itself was literally burning. Neeley stared at her console intently, waiting for that chance. _Wait for it. Wait for it…_

* * *

Riker and Data directed the _Flyer _back to Athos IV, her impulse engines set to the max. Data worked to communicate with Janeway through her communicator implant, trying to break through the interference in the atmosphere. Finally, he looked up. "There are not alone, sir. There is a Cardassian Gul, Madred, on the planet and talking to them. He is attempting to elicit some kind of response from Captain Picard." 

"Madred?" Riker asked. "The same Cardassian Gul who tortured Picard while he was in their custody during the Minos Corva incident?"

"Yes, sir." Data looked up suddenly then pressed a button on his panel. The conversation on the surface echoed throughout the _Flyer's _cockpit.

"_The last time we were together, you saw five lights, didn't you. Not four. Your spirit was broken, only your body resisted, clinging stubbornly to a number, such a small and insignificant thing. That time, I won, but you did not admit it. Right now, Picard, you say you have lost, but your spirit is unbroken. It is time for us to break it."_

Data jerked his head up. "Madred is preparing to launch one of the antimatter warheads. He is launching from a remote site but I cannot block his activation transmission. I am attempting to pinpoint his location." Data worked ceaselessly on his console, trying to stop the launch, but they were too far away. "One of the warheads has been launched, Commander."

Riker nodded his acknowledgement, swinging the _Flyer _around to intercept, the shuttle dipping into the atmosphere. "We're going to stop it, Data, the only way we can. We're going to shoot it down before it goes into warp."

"Sir, you realize that we will have to be inside of the warhead's blast radius in order to get a targeting solution," Data commented emotionlessly. Riker nodded grimly.

* * *

Janeway watched helplessly as the missile grew smaller in their vision, a gleaming dot in the darkened sky. There was nothing she or any of them could do but watch as the Federation made, Maquis-owned warhead raced upwards to annihilate the Maquis survivors - the people Ro had lived with for five years. 

A sudden sound caught her attention and her eyes widened. She flailed out with her arms, grabbing Chakotay and Picard's attention as she hit them both, then she tapped her ear. Listening as Data told her what he, Riker, and the Doctor were about to do, she gasped out quietly.

"What, what is it?" Ro asked desperately.

Janeway's head flew up towards the sky then she turned back. "Oh my God. _Get down!_" She threw herself to the ground, the others following so they were flat to the floor of the missile silo, their heads twisted to look towards the sky. There was a roar of sound, several times greater than that the missile had created, deafening their ears. Then the aft profile of the _Delta Flyer _came into view, her impulse drive flaring despite the fact that the ship was in atmosphere, racing up after the warhead.

The shuttle's forward phaser batteries fired. One burst went wide of the missile, streaking through the ionized atmosphere. The second struck the missile cleanly, blowing through its engine and vaporizing its outer casing. It lost velocity and, when the missile's computer realized it could no longer accomplish its mission, it detonated.

Data had reinforced the _Flyer's _forward shields and the ship was a reasonable distance away, but the blast smashed the shuttle aside, slamming the crewmen aboard from side to side violently. On the surface, once the glare had cleared, Janeway and Picard stood and watched as the shuttle's blackened hull slowly steadied herself. The ship was damaged but intact and operational.

_"Data to Janeway. Are you all right?"_

"Affirmative, Data. The warhead has been stopped?" Janeway responded.

_"Yes, Admiral, but Commander Riker has been severely injured."_

"Data, has DeSoto arrived? The _Hood _has a full size medical facility." Picard interjected.

"_Yes, but I cannot get the Commander to the _Hood _at this time. We lost communication with you because a Cardassian warship attacked us in orbit. Captain DeSoto has engaged the Cardassians and allowed us to return. Sir, the Doctor is stabilizing Commander Riker's condition, but we need to get him to a more capable medical facility."_

"Understood, Data." Picard glanced at Ro and Janeway who looked grim. Ro especially looked upset at the news, but they steeled themselves together. "All right, Data. I need you to pinpoint Gul Madred's transmitter and take it out before he sends any more launch codes. Then we're going to find him and end this before Will's condition deteriorates."

_"Acknowledged. I have pinpointed Madred's location. Preparing to fire… firing." _Above them, the whine of the _Flyer's _engines was followed by the ship screaming overhead, her forward phasers flashing down towards an innocuous building a few hundred feet away. On the roof, a large antenna and dish were vaporized instantly. _"Transmitter destroyed."_

"All right, Data. Stay up there and provide cover and allow the Doctor to work on Will unimpeded. We'll handle Madred." He tapped his combadge and turned to his companions. "Let's get out of this silo and finish this." Ro hoisted her rifle up, locking the barrel into place and jumping down from the computer platform. She paused on the ground, then reached up to her chest and removed her combadge, placing it on one of the warheads near the back wall.

She looked up at Picard. "Something for us to shoot at later." Then, taking a last look at the combadge that had been her only real possession for the last half-decade, she kicked in the door they had come through and led the team back out of the building.

* * *

On the _Flyer, _hovering over the building that the shuttle had fired on, the Doctor worked hurriedly on Commander Riker. Riker had sustained a severe head injury during the shockwave with the explosion – all three of them had been tossed about the shuttle, but Data being an android and himself being a hologram, neither one was injured. Riker, however, was bleeding profusely from the side of his head and just barely on the edge of consciousness. 

Data watched on a small monitor as the _Hood _and the Cardassians continued to battle it out, two ships skimming over and between plasma currents. On the screen, he saw the _Hood _fire a phaser blast that missed the Cardassians entirely, instead igniting a pocket of gas that burned through the Cardassian vessel's dorsal shields. In response, the Cardassians fired two bursts of energy, one of which blew cleanly through the _Hood's _forward shields, puncturing the ship's secondary hull near the deflector dish. Forcefields were erected to contain the breach, but the two ships were punishing each other, both now wearing wounds from the combat. The _Hood _turned, protecting her vulnerable bow, soaring through a collection of three funnels of plasma in a daring and exceptionally dangerous maneuver.

Data did note that the _Hood _was not using her full tactical suite – she was firing torpedoes consistently, but not as many as she could have. Watching, he finally deduced their strategy – the Cardassians were attempting to force the _Hood _into destroying herself against one of the Badlands' many dangers, but the _Hood _was methodically punching against the Cardassian's ventral shields, attempting to knock out their primary power couplings.

His attention was taken away as he noted movement on the surface. He watched as his four companions alertly moved into the building below him, rifles leading the way.

* * *

Ro moved silently, Janeway and Picard behind her. This building was dark, lights coming from doors ahead of them. Her tricorder said there were five Cardassians in this structure, all of them in those rooms. She pressed her back up against a wall, phaser covering the entrances, then moved quickly and quietly down the hall. 

One of the doors opened and two Cardassians moved out, carrying Cardassian-style phaser rifles. Her rifle fired twice, two pulses of energy flashing down the hall and catching each one in the chest. They fell back against the wall, collapsing to the floor. Ro slunk along the wall, her rifle still pointing at the door they had come from, waiting for another.

On the other side of the hall, Picard saw movement and a Cardassian suddenly popped out of the darkness wielding a hand phaser. A trim yellow blast of energy flashed past him and he heard Janeway gasp. His phaser snarled, a solid blast of energy striking the Cardassian, driving him to the floor. Then he turned back to look at Janeway. She was slumped against the wall, Chakotay tearing at her shirt to get at the wound. Her face was pained, but she looked up at Picard. "I'll be ok. Keep going," she panted. Then her face contorted as Chakotay reached the wound, a nasty phaser burn that sliced along her side.

Picard nodded and waved Ro forwards. Both of them busted through the door the Cardassians had come from, phasers waving from side to side. One Cardassian came at them from the side and Ro dropped to one knee, her rifle snapping up and blasted him in leg. He fell to the ground but attempted to raise his phaser for a shot and Ro pulled the trigger again, the second shot blowing him off his feet.

Behind a desk at the end of the room, complete with four lights that pointed towards the front of the room, Madred was rising to his feet, a phaser in his hand. He was pointing it at Ro – the Bajoran's focus still on the Cardassian she had killed. Picard's rifle fired once, the blast catching Madred. He went down heavily, collapsing into the chair behind the desk.

Picard walked forward warily, his phaser still trained on Madred's wounded body. Ro rose to her feet to follow behind him, still intensely aware of her surroundings.

"You were right, you know," Madred said heavily, the wound in his chest slowing his breathing.

"About what?" Picard asked, glancing up at the lights that framed Madred's chair.

"Everything. The Cardassian military, the government, the war, and my daughter. All of it. You saw clearly what would happen to my people if we continued on the path we were on, and it did. I think, perhaps, that is why I was so obsessed with beating you, Picard." He laughed, a choking sound that was cut off abruptly as he convulsed. "The military is dead, killed by our own foolish ambitions and absolute certainty in our cause. The war is ended with our crushing and total defeat, and my daughter… my daughter… is one of the millions of dead."

Picard let the rifle fall from Madred's body. "I'm sorry."

Madred laughed. "You shouldn't be. My Cardassia is dead and I had no interest in being a part of the new one. I have no place there – it was to be my daughter's Cardassia, and she never got a chance to live to see it. You and I had unfinished business – either you would defeat me or I would defeat you, and you have beaten me. I knew you would, it gives me a death as a Cardassian, a death that I would have wanted. But now it all seems… so empty." He smiled. "There are… _four _lights."

Madred's body sagged in the chair, lapsing silently as the wound overcame him, the life bleeding from his body. Picard watched silently then turned away to Ro, who was watching with a look of bitter resentment on her face. "It's strange, Laren," he said. "Despite everything, I still feel sorry for him. I found him a pitiable man when we last met and that is how he died. He struggled for everything in his life and it ends now with everything taken from him."

Ro shook her head. "You can feel sorry for him if you like. _I'm_ just glad he's dead. Let's go get Janeway and get out of here."

* * *

"Hey, hey, relax," Chakotay murmured, applying pressure to Janeway's wound. It was a nasty burn, but thankfully not life threatening. With his one hand he found Janeway's, clasping it tightly. "I almost lost you," he whispered. 

"I've had worse," Janeway responded quickly. Then she met Chakotay's eyes and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, I'm being insensitive. I'll be all right, Chakotay." She squeezed his hand. "I'll be _all right_," she assured him. Chakotay nodded and let out a heavy breath. Janeway glanced up. "I wonder how Riker is doing," she said quietly.

"The Doctor has him. If anyone can treat his injuries, it's him," Chakotay reassured her. "I was starting to like the man," he said with a small smile.

"Oh, I noticed," Janeway said with a laugh, but she cut herself off as the wound burned. "Oh, ouch," she grimaced. Chakotay lifted his hand off of it and tore a strip from her shirt, wrapping it around the wound as a new makeshift bandage. There wasn't much bleeding, but the first bandage he had used was soaked through. Janeway tightened her grip on his hand. "I love you," she whispered.

Chakotay smiled. "I know, Kathryn."

Behind them he heard footsteps and pulled his hands away, reaching for his phaser and threw his body about, pointing it down the darkened hallway. Ro held her hands up. "Don't shoot," she said dryly. "It's finished."

Chakotay nodded and he and Picard reached down to help Janeway to her feet. "We have to get to the _Flyer,"_ Picard said. "I don't want to even think about two starships fighting it out in the Badlands and Robert is going to need as much help as we can give him." Ro led the way out as Picard and Chakotay half carried Janeway from the building.

* * *

"Bring us about, through those two plasma streamers to port, helm. Invert the ship, keep our damaged shields facing away from the Cardassians, La Forge needs time to get them back up." DeSoto turned away from the helm. "Lisa, we can't take too much more of this." 

Neeley nodded. "Their ventral shields have taken a pounding, but I haven't managed to penetrate them yet. As soon as they go down this fight it over." She returned to her panel and on the viewscreen a pair of phaser blasts came from the _Hood, _driving down to peck against the Cardassian shields.

"Get them down _soon, _Lieutenant. It's only a matter of time before the Badlands decides to express itself and wreck one of us – it's a bloody miracle we've both survived as long as we have," DeSoto responded. Neeley raised her eyes to make sure DeSoto knew she understood then returned her focus to her job. DeSoto turned back to face the viewer. "DeSoto to La Forge, get my shields back!"

"_I'm working on it, sir, but the Cardassians blew out the starboard generator. It'll be a few minutes before I can replace the primaries. Keep our starboard side from the Cardassians in the meantime! I'm going to divert power from forcefields to shields, you'll have to evacuate deck fourteen – the only thing keeping that deck from space is the emergency bulkhead." _La Forge sounded hassled and DeSoto could hear the bustle of Engineering, working to keep his ship in one piece.

"Consider it done, Geordi," he answered, cutting the link. Settling into his seat, he rested his back against the chair, spine straight as the ship shuddered around him. On the viewscreen, the plasma storm writhed with color, as if alive and seeking to reach up and destroy his ship. _If we don't end this soon, we're finished. Yet another battle in the Badlands will end with neither ship coming home in one piece. _He patted the armrest of his chair mindlessly. _Hang in there, old girl. We've been through a lot together; we'll make it through this too._

* * *

Data settled the _Flyer _down on the ground and the hatch opened, allowing Picard and Chakotay to lift Janeway into the back. They helped her forward into the cockpit, resting her across from the barely-conscious Riker. 

"How's Will?" asked Picard. He stopped to settle next to his first officer, patting him on the shoulder and saying something reassuring. The Doctor came up behind him.

"He's stable for now, but I need to get him to a better medical facility as soon as possible. I'm keeping him awake as best I can, if he falls unconscious he might go into a coma." The Doctor glanced at Janeway, noting the bandage plastered against her side. "Did you get wounded too?" he asked dryly, moving to tend to her.

Ro slipped to the front, taking the helm. "We've got to get up into orbit and help out the _Hood,_" she commented, starting the engines back up. Chakotay stood behind her, looking out the window, while Data returned to tactical. "Where's the battle, Data?"

Data looked up, glancing at Picard and Chakotay. "The _Hood _and the Cardassian warship are currently in the plasma storm, engaged in a series of hit and runs, trying to force the other into the storm while keeping themselves at a distance. Both ships are damaged, but neither has sustained extensive damage as yet."

Chakotay nodded. "What's the damage to the Cardassian vessel?" he asked. Picard and Data moved together, going over the data.

"Their ventral shields are heavily damaged – they have inverted their ship in order to keep the topside away from the _Hood _so that shecannot inflict any further damage to their primary power couplings," Data said flatly.

Picard ran his finger down the information on the screen. "It looks like their primary shield generator is vulnerable," he said. "If we could take it out, that would give the _Hood _a window in which to finish this battle with one swift blow."

"We play the anvil, the _Hood _gets to be the hammer," Ro said from the helm. The _Flyer _skimmed through the plasma storm. Ahead of them, they could see the flashes and the bright cobalt blue of the _Hood's _nacelles, the two ships still engaged in their deadly game of cat and mouse.

Chakotay rubbed the side of his face. "Data, are the Cardassian vessel's shields damaged enough for us to penetrate them?" he asked.

Data shook his head in a negative. "Not with our forward weaponry. We don't have enough power to breach their shields." Picard sighed heavily. A bright flash drew all their attention – the Cardassian vessel had skimmed a plasma streamer, bouncing off of it, relatively undamaged. From that mistake was an opportunity for them, however – a blast from their forward disrupter ripped through the _Hood's _damaged starboard shields, tearing open her hull.

"We have to do something quickly, before Robert runs out of options," Picard said flatly. "The _Hood _can take a Galor-class cruiser, but remember she wasn't finished with her refit – that ship is flying without a full crew and without all her systems online. She went into this at a massive disadvantage, nevermind the fact that we're trying to have a battle in the middle of the Badlands." He sighed. "Janeway and I didn't think the _Hood_ would end up in a firefight with a Cardassian cruiser when we arranged to have her follow us."

Chakotay turned to Data. "Could we penetrate the Cardassian shields with the _Flyer _herself, then blow out their shield generator from inside their shield perimeter?" he asked. Ro turned back to look at him incredulously as Data nodded an affirmative. "Oh, come on Ro," Chakotay said. "Be creative. I know you've used that tactic before."

Ro increased the intensity of her look. "Yeah, but the ship wasn't moving or shooting at me!" she exclaimed. She sighed. "All right, but this is _not _a bright idea." She swung the _Flyer _about on a straight-line course for the Cardassian vessel, whose attention was still trained on the _Hood _as the two vessels continued to exchange weapons fire.

"This plan could succeed," Data interjected. "However, we would only be able to destroy the Cardassian ship's primary shield generator – they would switch to auxiliary and we would be unable to disable those. There would be only a short window during which they would be vulnerable." Chakotay nodded his understanding. _It'll be enough._

Picard grasped his computer, working to strengthen the _Flyer's _shields as best he could while Ro sat amongst the forward helm computers, directing the ship deftly around the currents and eddies of the Badlands with far more precision than either of the larger two ships could accomplish. "Closing on the Cardassians," she reported. "I'm trying to keep their weapons batteries from getting a clean shot, but it's not easy to do that _and _avoid this damned storm."

The _Flyer _spun around a plasma current, turning and facing the Cardassians from above the warship. Below them, the _Hood _was turning to face the warship, her front weapons bristling with energy. Two blasts of phaser energy rocked forward, puncturing the Cardassian shields and raking along her hull. The Cardassians retaliated, but La Forge had gotten the forward shields back up in time to block the blast. The _Hood _skated forwards over the Cardassians between them and the _Flyer, _the phasers on her underbelly opening up the hull of the Cardassian vessel.

"Nice shooting," Ro commented. "Bringing us in on the Cardassians, Data pick your target." Data acknowledged and Ro started counting down on shield penetration.

She was cut off as a gout of plasma, ignited by the weapons fire between the two starships, erupted beside the _Flyer. _She drove the vessel into evasive maneuvers, skimming forwards instead of punching through the Cardassian shields, barely managing to avoid it. She began to comment about hating the Badlands, but she was cut off as a blast from the Cardassian disrupter banks hit the now vulnerable _Delta Flyer _squarely.

The helm computers her fingers rested on sparked with energy as the shields overloaded. She kept her fingers on the blistering panel long enough to direct the _Flyer _away and out of the line of fire, but then the helm console exploded into a shower of sparks that sizzled on her hands, the skin instantly blistering from the heat. She threw herself down and away from the console just as the other computers on either side of the helm blew out. From behind the helm, Chakotay saw a river of tiny specks of light that evaporated quickly once in open air.

Despite the agony that was her fingers, Ro didn't scream, but she twitched on the floor of the shuttle as the sparks that had seared her hands fizzled out. She lay helpless on the floor, unable to get up because her hands were useless. Chakotay rushed to her side, lifting her up and out of the way and hefting her into Picard's arms, who helped her into the back of the shuttle. Chakotay cautiously slipped into the helm in her place, resting his hands on the console that had just brutally burned Ro's. The sparks were gone and it no longer sizzled with energy, but it was hot to the touch.

Above the _Flyer, _the _Hood _came around for another pass. This time her weapons failed to break through the Cardassian shields as before. The Cardassian retaliation was a disrupter discharge that swarmed through a pocket of explosive gas, and a large explosion enveloped the _Hood. _Despite its impressive size, the _Hood's _shields protected her hull and the ship emerged undamaged, a quantum torpedo swarming down to detonate on the Cardassian shields.

Chakotay swung the _Flyer _around towards the Cardassian vessel, aiming for the spot that Ro hadn't managed to get the ship to. "Here we go, Data. Keep your finger on the trigger."

* * *

Picard rested Ro down next to Riker. She slumped against the floor; her hands held out and covered with burns. Ro wore a look of agony, but she suppressed it. "I'm sorry, sir," she whispered. "I got all of us into this. I was used to get you here." 

Picard patted her shoulder. "Not your fault, Laren. You did what you had to do and it's all going to work out." He stood and moved back to his post at the helm. Across from Riker and Ro, the Doctor was running an instrument over Janeway's body. Finally, he removed a hypospray and pressed it against her neck and Janeway fell into unconsciousness.

"Is… is she all right?" Riker spoke, his eyes hazy and his speech incredibly slurred. Ro nodded, but then realized that Riker probably couldn't see her nodding.

"Yes. The Admiral will be fine, her injury wasn't that severe, but it was worse than she claimed," she said. She looked over Riker, who had a bandage wrapped around his head. Riker's eyes blinked shut. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Will."

"Like… Jean-Luc said… not your fault," Riker slurred. He forced his eyes open and focused them on Ro for a few seconds. "At… your memorial… I said you were one of the fine… finest officers I had ever known," he said, the words vague but distinct. "I said… that you were insubordinate… pessimistic… and a contrary pain in the ass… but that's why you were… the best…"

Ro blinked, tears forming in her eyes. "You'll be all right, Will. You can tell me when you're well."

Will shook his head as best he could. "No… now. I… won't tell you later." He stopped, breathing heavily. "If I don't… make it out of this, Laren… tell… tell Deanna that I said I love her… please." His eyes blurred shut and he collapsed lightly against the side of the _Flyer._

Ro reached up to wipe the moisture from her eyes, but her burned hands wouldn't let her. So she moved herself over towards Riker as best she could without using her hands, two tears running down her face, but she collapsed before she got close enough to embrace him. She looked up on his nearly unconscious countenance, her face brimming with emotion. "We'll get you back to her, Will. I promise."

* * *

In the main window of the _Flyer, _the Cardassian ship grew steadily as Chakotay maneuvered towards it. The _Flyer _weaved back and forth under Chakotay's guidance, dodging the fire from the disrupter banks like the one that had fried Ro. Behind him, he could hear Picard saying something about having the shields ready for impact and counting down to contact, but he was too focused on the Cardassians to even realize it. 

For the first time in a very long time, Chakotay was actively fighting Cardassians. It was something that he thought he had put long behind him, with the Maquis, but then the past has that uncanny ability to show up and interfere with your life when you least expect it in all kinds of unanticipated ways.

With the _Flyer _closing on the Cardassians, preparing to use an old tactic he had taught at the Advanced Tactics course, it was almost as if the last seven years had never happened. But then he would run his hands over the console and feel Tom Paris' uncanny ability to design things that both looked good and worked better, or hear the thrum of the engines that was so like and unlike the thrum of the engines of his old Maquis raider – B'Elanna had practically built both, after all.

And, lying unconscious in the back of the _Flyer _was irrevocable proof that he was no longer the man who had joined the Maquis, the bitter and resentful man who was fighting just to fight – Kathryn Janeway.

But right now, Chakotay let his Maquis instincts take over, one last time. He needed every one of them if the _Flyer _was going to get close enough to penetrate the Cardassian shields and shoot out their primary shield generator. All it would give the _Hood _was five seconds – five short seconds – before they switched to the auxiliary. But he knew it would be all Neeley needed to end this.

Weaving the _Flyer _one last time, the Cardassian warship grew to a massive proportion in the window and Chakotay heard Picard count down to zero, then the _Flyer _slammed against the Cardassian shields. Had the _Hood _not been pounding them just before, the shuttle would probably had disintegrated, tearing itself apart as if it had slammed into the ground of a planet. Instead, the _Flyer _punched through, breaking under the shields and over the defenseless hull. The Cardassian disrupters couldn't get a lock on the _Flyer – _the shuttle was just too close – and Data picked out the primary shield generator and fired.

Chakotay pointed the ship up and away from the Cardassians, his hand pushing the throttle to maximum as the shields that protected the Cardassian warship failed.

* * *

Luck was something that had no place in warfare in Lisa Neeley's opinion. It was an uncontrollable factor, chance, that sometimes played far too great a role in determining the outcome of battles. But she had learned that luck was not entirely its own device – you could plan for it, prepare for the unexpected, and make sacrifices in the now so that when the future came and the unexpected happened either in or against your favor, you were ready for it. 

Since the opening volley from the _Hood, _forward torpedo launcher number two had remained loaded and unfired.

When the Cardassian shields fell, Neeley's brain froze. There was no reason for their shields to drop right then – she couldn't see the _Flyer _on scanners, those systems having taken battle damage. _Why would they drop their shields? A mechanical failure? Did I do more damage than I thought I did?_ Despite her pondering and questions, Neeley was a veteran. Before the first word had finished forming in her mind, her right hand slammed down on the red button labeled "Launcher Two."

Four quantum torpedoes fired rapidly from the _Hood's _second torpedo tube. The first of them punched through the Cardassian ship's aft section, exploding in the middle of the ship's hull and tearing a giant hole that looked like a giant had taken a bite out of the Cardassian cruiser. The second and third slammed into the forward hull, the first one blowing through three decks before detonating and the second doing the same fifty meters down the hull. The fourth rammed in behind the second and the explosion was seen on the far side of the Cardassian warship, on the underbelly, the torpedo having gone cleanly through the ship's hull.

Captain DeSoto watched incredulously as Neeley somehow managed to put four torpedoes into the Cardassian vessel as if its shields weren't there. He turned back to look at her, but her gaze was locked on the viewscreen. The Cardassian ship was burning violently, flame licking out and igniting particles in the Badlands as the ship drifted helplessly. The warship twisted over, turning nonsensically as the gravity shear overcame its crippled engines and the vessel was carried straight into a whirling tornado of superheated plasma.

* * *

Chakotay clenched his fist in exultation as the Cardassian vessel was torn apart by the fury of the Badlands, then he moved the _Flyer _towards the _Hood_. Behind him, Picard let out a giant breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding. 

"Well done, Commander," Picard said. "Now I know where Ro learned the tricks she used that last mission." Chakotay grinned back at him, but then returned his focus to the helm. The _Delta Flyer _skimmed over the plasma storms, moving towards a more sedate area alongside the _Hood_, and in the aft of the scarred starship her shuttlebay doors yawed open, awaiting their arrival.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"Wake up, Will," someone murmured above him. An arm hooked behind his back and pulled him upright and he opened his eyes to look into the smiling face of Beverly Crusher. "You took a beating, but you'll be all right. How do you feel?"

"Like a shuttlecraft landed on my head," Riker groaned. He glanced around the room, taking in a sickbay that he assumed belonged to the _Hood. _"I see the _Hood _won. Is everyone else all right? What happened?"

"Later, Will. First, there's someone who wants to see you," Beverly smiled softly at him, then turned around and Deanna came into the room, followed by several other people.

"Deanna," Riker grinned. Troi threw her arms around him and the two clung to one another while Crusher beamed at them. "I'm okay, Deanna."

"Well, of course you are! You had the very best taking care of you with _Voyager_'s Doctor and Beverly. I knew you would be fine." She stepped back and looked at him disapprovingly. "Don't do something so stupid again, Will."

"Believe me, if there'd been an option other than flying into the blast radius of a missile in order to shoot it down, I would have taken it," Will sighed. He looked up over Deanna's shoulder and saw Picard and Janeway. "Captain, Admiral. I'm glad to see you are both all right. How's Ro?"

"She's fine, Number One," Picard said. "She spent some time with a dermal regenerator after the _Hood _picked us up and now she's working with Geordi and Data to fix up some of the damage to the _Hood._"

From beside him, DeSoto spoke up. Riker's head jerked to the left, he hadn't seen DeSoto enter. "My ship took quite a pounding thanks to this little escapade of yours. But I suppose it's now my escapade too."

Riker grinned at him. "Are we under arrest, Bob?"

DeSoto sighed, then his face changed slowly to a wry smile. "Not exactly. Starfleet Command is under the… mistaken impression… that my ship and I were an active part in this whole disastrous plot. Technically, _I'm _AWOL too."

Riker laughed. "Welcome to the club, Captain DeSoto!" He stood, slowly rolling his head from side to side. He looked up. "Well, Starfleet is probably chasing us like a bat out of hell. Where are we that we haven't been arrested?"

"We haven't left Athos IV," Janeway said. "We have one last thing that we need to do before we leave and we wanted you to be conscious for it."

"Well then," Riker said. "Let's get up and get going, shall we? I wouldn't want to be in the Badlands any longer than I had to be."

* * *

The group entered the bridge of the _Hood _that was in surprisingly good shape. In front of the viewscreen Riker could make out a pair of legs that belonged to Ro, the rest of her obscured because she was lying under the conn panel making repairs. Geordi stood above her, his hands running over the panel. At tactical, Lieutenant Neeley was running systems tests with Data and Chakotay. 

DeSoto took the helm. "Ms. Ro," he said as he sat down. Ro's legs slid forward and she popped up to her feet.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Captain Picard and Admiral Janeway thought you would like to do the honors," DeSoto said. Ro shot a glance over towards the turbolift, glancing at both of them and nodding at Riker and Deanna.

"All right," she answered. She looked over at Neeley. "Lieutenant… Neeley, right? On the surface you should detect one Starfleet issue combadge – it's about seven years out of date, but it should still be functional. I want you to target it with two low-yield quantum torpedoes, but set them to a maximum blast radius. They don't need to be powerful – trust me, what's on the surface will supply the punch." She looked back at DeSoto. "Put some space between us and the planet. After those things go off, I doubt it'll still have a breathable atmosphere and we don't want to get stuck in a blast of that magnitude."

"I'll say," DeSoto agreed. "Very well." He grinned down at Geordi, who was sitting adjacent to the helm. "It's been a long time since you were helmsman of this ship, La Forge. The conn is yours. Get us a safe distance from the planet, preferably not in the middle of the plasma storms."

Geordi grinned widely. "Aye sir." He pulled the conn panel back into place over his lap and set a course away from Athos IV. The planet shrunk slightly on the viewscreen and each of them watched intently.

Ro clenched her fists. "Target my combadge and fire," she said flatly.

At tactical, Neeley pressed two buttons, then her hand pressed down softly. Two torpedoes twinkled as they descended towards the planet and then vanished as they cut under the atmosphere. Then there was a bright blast, bright enough to blind the entire bridge crew if the viewscreen hadn't automatically lowered the intensity of the light, which obscured the planet. When it had passed, Athos IV sported a huge crater where the launch site had once been.

Ro sighed. _"Now_ it's over," she said. "That's the end of it."

Chakotay sank into one of the science station chairs, watching as Athos IV glowed as the damaged atmosphere tried to adjust for the massive explosion that had added a huge crater and cracked the planet's crust. Plumes of black ash were soaring up into the sky and volcanoes triggered in response to the blast, the planet's dusky grey atmosphere fading to a darker black. "The Maquis are gone," he said quietly. "That was our last legacy, but it was a legacy I don't want us to remember."

Janeway strode over to him, placing both her hands on his shoulder in comfort. From next to DeSoto, Picard was the one who spoke. "Thanks to what we've done, Commander, this won't be the legacy of the Maquis. They will be remembered for what they did and how they died – for the righteousness of their cause, not the mistakes they almost made." He turned and nodded at DeSoto. "Get us out of here, Robert. We're finished here."

DeSoto nodded towards Geordi at the helm. "Commander La Forge, set a course out of the Badlands, your discretion on course and speed. Do me a favor and avoid the plasma storms, I'd really like to get out of this bloody place without doing any more damage to my poor ship."

Geordi nodded and set a course out, the _Hood _sailing sedately over and below the roiling sea of plasma, safely avoiding the larger funnels of plasma like those that had annihilated the Cardassian ship.

Most of the bridge crew was locked on the viewscreen, taking in the primal fury and natural beauty of the Badlands, but Ro was making her way over cautiously towards Riker and Troi. Deanna noticed her in the corner of her eye and smiled to herself, poking Riker surreptitiously.

Ro finally walked up beside them. "Commander, thank you for what you said on the _Flyer._ I…" her voice fell away and she waited for him to respond.

Will nodded at her. "As much as we fought, Laren, I always respected you. We fought over everything that we could possibly have fought over, but in the end I think the _Enterprise _always ran better for it." He shrugged. "I think maybe we fought so much because, in a lot of ways, we're alike. I'm glad you're back, Ro."

Ro nodded and wandered off. Deanna leaned up and whispered something in Riker's ear and he turned back to her in astonishment. "Deanna!" he hissed. She laughed uncontrollably under her breath.

From helm, Geordi looked up. "We're coming up on the edge of the Badlands," he reported. On the viewscreen, the plasma storms began to fade as the _Hood _progressed steadily onwards and then the ship skated out of the storms, leaving the deadly region behind. DeSoto sighed in relief.

Behind him, Neeley's eyebrows rose. "Captain, I believe we have company," she said. She tapped a few buttons and the viewscreen switched from the sedate stars that had been there to a different picture. Three Federation starships hung in space, waiting for their return. One was a Sovereign-class starship, the _Yorktown. _Another was the boxy, wedge shape that was indicative of a Defiant-class escort – her ID code said she was the _Kumari. _The last ship was the largest, four glowing warp nacelles behind a large triangular forward saucer.

DeSoto grimaced. "The _Prometheus,_" he said with a sigh. "Admiral Nechayev."

Neeley looked up, then tapped a button on her console and put through the hail from the incoming fleet. "USS Prometheus _to _USS Hood, _you are ordered to stand down your weapons, lower your shields, and prepare to be boarded. Repeat, you are ordered to stand down your weapons, lower your shields, and prepare to be boarded. If you do not comply with these instructions we will initiate deadly force."_

DeSoto rolled his eyes. "Friendly bunch, aren't they," he said. He looked up at Picard. "Well, my friend, it appears that we are under arrest."

Picard held up a hand. "Lieutenant Neeley, I want you to respond to that hail. Tell Admiral Nechayev that we'll return peaceably to Earth and return the transwarp coil, but that we have some Bularian canapés that we think she should try for herself over here."

DeSoto raised an eyebrow. "Bularian canapés?"

* * *

Admiral Alynna Nechayev strode into the _Hood's _conference room, her aide waiting patiently outside. At the table sat Captain Picard, Captain DeSoto, Admiral Janeway, and the rest of their conspiracy members. She planted her hands on the table, glaring down the line at each of them. "Have you all lost your minds?" she asked. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are all in?" 

Picard interrupted. "Mr. Data, would you be so kind to put the image we discussed on the main viewer?" he asked. Data nodded and the screen that overlooked the conference table blinked to life, an image of one of the antimatter warheads that had been on Athos IV appearing. "Do you recognize this, Admiral?"

Nechayev shrugged. "Of course, it's one of the old long-range tactical antimatter missiles that were created during the first Cardassian war. They were never used and were sent into mothballs – it was decided they were simply too powerful and using them would invite retaliation." She looked at Picard, eyeing him. "What's going on, Jean-Luc?"

Chakotay leaned forwards. "After my ship and I were lost in the Delta Quadrant, a former Federation officer by the name of Michael Eddington defected to the Maquis from his post as the chief of security on the _Defiant. _He used connections inside of Starfleet to obtain a supply of several dozen of these warheads – a connection that was as high up as an Admiral."

Aside him, Ro shrugged. "We decided never to use the warheads because we had no way to launch them and didn't want to spend the resources needed to construct a proper launcher. They sat and rotted on Athos IV until the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar arrived on that world and captured the supply." Ro leaned back in her chair. "I received a message confirming that the missile launcher – a launcher we'd never constructed – had been activated. We suspected that a member of Starfleet might have been involved since there were no Maquis left and we didn't know the Cardassians knew about the warheads and that's the reason for all the deception and… illegal activity on our part in recent days."

Nechayev sat down heavily. "Were the warheads still on Athos IV?" she asked.

Picard nodded. "It turned out a Cardassian Gul, Madred, had taken control of the facility and sent the message to Lieutenant Ro in order to lure me to Athos so that he could finish what we'd started almost a decade ago during the Minos Corva incident."

Nechayev nodded. "I remember him." She glanced at Janeway. "How did you get involved?"

Janeway laughed. "By accident," she said. "They needed Chakotay to help shut down the missiles and we were somewhat… involved… when Commander Riker arrived to recruit the Commander to this plan."

Nechayev glanced down at the table. She sighed. "A month ago Starfleet Intelligence received a report from the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau that Gul Madred had disappeared, headed for regions unknown. He and many other Cardassian military officers object to the new civilian government in Cardassia, but most of them understand that it's necessary – there are those that do not. Madred disappeared with another Gul, Jasad, and a Cardassian Galor-class warship. It was believed that they were after you, Jean-Luc, which is why we recalled the _Enterprise _for shore leave and retrofitting."

Picard's mouth dropped open. "And you didn't see fit to _tell _me about this?"

Nechayev winced. "We were planning to, but the _Enterprise _got involved in the transwarp project and you disappeared before we got the chance."

Riker laughed. "Unbelievable. We could have avoided all of this mayhem if the Admiralty was just a little bit better at communicating." He glanced at Nechayev. "So, are we all going to prison for this?"

Nechayev glanced at him. "Well, Commander, you'll have to face a board of inquiry and a court-martial, but I suspect that you'll all be exonerated once the facts get out, especially if the public should find out about the whole mess and that this rogue Gul was prepared to kill civilians with old Maquis weaponry."

Data was sitting quietly next to Nechayev. "Admiral, there is still one more question that needs to be answered – there was a high level Starfleet official who was supplying the Maquis with weapons and ammunition during the resistance."

Nechayev glanced around the room and then she sighed. "Yes, Data. I know. I was," she admitted.

The room went silent as the conspirators shared incredulous looks. Finally, Picard looked at Nechayev and asked, "You, Admiral? You were the foremost member of the Admiralty who was opposed to the Maquis, even through the _Voyager _court-martial. You were under direct orders to stop the Maquis by whatever means necessary and you forwarded those orders to dozens of other Starfleet officials, like myself and Captain Sisko and even Admiral Janeway here."

Nechayev looked up, her eyes cold and hard. "No, Captain. My orders were to protect Federation interests in the demilitarized zone and to preserve the peace. I did what I had to do in order to preserve the peace, but after you negotiated the treaty that handed Federation citizens over to the tender mercies of the Cardassian Union and they started being abused, I took what action I could to protect those civilians. We _abandoned _those people to their worst enemy, Jean-Luc! You were as opposed to it as I was. If not for me and other officials inside of Starfleet, the Maquis would have starved to death and the colonists they protected would have all been killed or turned into helpless refugees, as what had happened to Bajor. I wouldn't have that on my conscience." She winced. "Those missiles were intended to be used as torpedoes, not long range planetary warheads. I couldn't smuggle out any more photons without drawing suspicion. In hindsight it wasn't that smart, but the Maquis were desperate for ammunition at the time."

Riker sighed. "Wow," he said tiredly. "What a mess."

Nechayev stood. "You destroyed the missiles?" she asked. "There is no longer a threat?" Janeway nodded an acknowledgement. "Good. Now, there's the question of what will become of all of us. We might all go down together for this – the person who set it in motion," she gestured to herself, "the ones who did the fighting," she pointed at Ro and Chakotay, "and those who threw away their careers in order to correct the remaining mistakes of that… turbulent time." She sighed.

Janeway shrugged. "We will be court-martialed," she said quietly. Nechayev nodded. "I think maybe we should tell everyone the real story. Tell the truth, to everyone. There's enough sympathy for the Maquis in the Federation now that there's very little chance that any of us will face censure."

Riker glanced at Nechayev. "How many people knew that you were supplying the Maquis with weapons and supplies during the resistance?"

Nechayev shrugged. "My aide who was killed during the Dominion War. Commander Eddington himself only knew that the supplies came from a higher up inside the Starfleet command structure but we never told him who exactly."

A tiny small crossed Janeway's face. "It would be somewhat ironic if we all went down for this together," she said quietly, gaining the attention of the others. "But I have an idea that could arrange for our court-martial to end without any of us losing our careers – especially with current public opinion being what it is in favor of the Maquis." She glanced at Data. "Data, is our subspace transmitter still being jammed by the _Prometheus?_"

"Yes, Admiral," Data responded. "We are unable to get any messages in or out."

"But the _Prometheus _can?" Janeway asked. Data nodded his agreement. Janeway turned and grinned at Nechayev. "I think it's time we officially became Maquis," she said. "You said we'd probably get exonerated after all the information got out. I have a message I want you to send to Tom Paris for me." She grinned widely. "It's time to face the music – but I intend to write the score and be ready to dance."

* * *

The four starships reentered the Earth solar system, bypassing Jupiter and Mars to come into orbit around Earth. The conspirators were held aboard the _Hood _along with the _Hood's _crew, who were also in trouble for disobeying orders and going after the _Delta Flyer. _Their communications were locked down, but they were allowed visitors while awaiting court-martial – Admiral Nechayev had seen to that. 

A small shuttlecraft, a typical Starfleet class two, was soaring up from Earth towards the Excelsior-class _Hood. _On board were some visitors: Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres, and Miral were the ones registered on the docking manifest. In the back section, his lifesigns smothered by the ship's engine and a device he had brought along specifically for that purpose, hid Jake Sisko. _Why do I always choose the most dangerous and possibly illegal stories to cover? _Laughing quietly, Jake grinned to himself. _If you want the good story, you have to take the risks._

* * *

"Welcome to Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade! Come in, come in! Remember, we're the place where Jake Sisko got his start as a reporter! Come watch his fascinating news reports straight off the information feed from the FNS in that very same place!" Quark turned to his waiter. "Broik, go get the bigger screen for the news reports," he whispered as the guests milled about, ordering drinks and spinning the Dabo tables. "I had no idea that Sisko's kid would become so popular. Nog should have become a reporter." 

According to the FNS, Sisko would have an exclusive scoop on a major story – although he had refused to tell anyone what the story was until after it had already aired. Quark, recently released from prison at the behest of the Grand Nagus, had jumped on the opportunity to make up for lost profits.

Quark tripped over a large foot that was sticking out by the bar. "Morn, watch where you put your foot," Quark complained, kicking the foot. Morn turned and looked at him with a blank expression, then turned away to watch the monitor that Broik was setting up.

"This is the Federation News Service, reporting from San Francisco on Earth. My name is Jake Sisko." On the screen, Jake grinned. "I'm sure all of you are aware of the recent events that took place on Earth involving the Maquis captain who served on _Voyager, _Chakotay, and _Voyager's_ captain, the newly promoted Kathryn Janeway. Thanks to special inside sources among _Voyager's _crew and associates, I now have the entire story of those events and several first person interviews with the people who were involved themselves – including Captain Phillipa Louvois, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander William T. Riker of the _Enterprise_, Captain Robert DeSoto and Lieutenant Lisa Neeley of the _Hood_, and _Voyager's _EMH, Commander Chakotay, and Admiral Janeway herself."

On the screen the image changed as he named each person, a short biography lingering on the display. "This incredible story began with a Maquis survivor, a former Federation officer who served under Captain Picard on the _Enterprise _before defecting to the Maquis seven years ago, Ro Laren returning from exile in the Badlands to inform her former commanding officer that…"

The rest of the commentary didn't register in Quark's mind. The image on the screen was Talia, the woman who'd set him up and sent him to prison. She's used him to find Picard! _I've been an unknowing participant in this conspiracy! The outrage! The potential profits!_

Quark immediately flung himself over to his computer, plugging in various numbers. _Where's that address Jake gave me if I ever needed to contact him. It's got to be here somewhere…_

* * *

Admiral Owen Paris was returning home after a long day at work. There had been a huge buzz around the office about some news report, but he'd been exceptionally distracted. Since the _Hood _had arrived he'd been going through every piece of evidence, all the information he had in an attempt to find out what exactly Janeway and Chakotay had been thinking, but so far all his searching had been for naught. _They just… vanished. For no apparent reason other than their illicit relationship. I can't believe Admiral Janeway would do something so disloyal, there has to be another explanation._

Owen walked up to his house and stopped. The front door was open again and on the lawn were a large number of vehicles. The lights were on brightly through almost all the windows and he could hear the sounds of a party. _Tom didn't throw a party while I was out of the house, did he? I'm not home that early. He's not sixteen anymore, damn it._

"Tom!" he called as he walked in the door. "What are you thinking! Who are all these…" Owen paused as he turned and entered the living room. Gathered around the video monitor were several dozen people, some wearing Starfleet uniforms but many not. He recognized Seven of Nine sitting in one corner with Commander Tuvok. On the couch Tom and Harry were laughing uproariously at something on the monitor, B'Elanna holding little Miral in her arms and doing her best not to laugh along with them.

There were dozens of other _Voyager _crewmen. Ken Dalby was sitting near Tuvok with Mariah Henly. Rose Jenkins was wearing her new Lieutenant's uniform in a chair adjacent to Lieutenant Rollins and Ensign Vorik. "What the hell?" he muttered. "Tom!" he cried again, louder. "What's going on here?"

Tom just laughed and pointed at the monitor. Owen turned and focused his view on the screen. "So you asked Captain Louvois to throw the Maquis trial so that you could break Chakotay out – all to prevent the people who controlled the missiles from learning that you were coming to stop them?" Jake was asking.

On the screen, Janeway rubbed the back of her head. "It sounds crazy, doesn't it," she admitted. "I had much the same response when it was suggested, but it was the only way we could get Chakotay out of the system without giving away the fact that he was headed to the DMZ. Of course, as it turns out Gul Madred knew we were coming anyway so it didn't matter, but…" Janeway grinned. "It was fun," she admitted, her face taking on a slight blush.

In the room the _Voyager _crew erupted into laughs and cheers.

Owen collapsed into a chair, gesturing at Tuvok to come over. "I think you'd better tell me everything, Commander," he said loud enough to be heard over the din. "Then Tom has some explaining to do."

The room grew quiet as footage from the _Delta Flyer _and the _Hood _from the battle that had taken place in the Badlands played on the screen, culminating with the destruction of the Cardassian vessel. On the screen, Jake was interviewing DeSoto and Neeley. DeSoto was the focus, Neeley was sitting quietly next to him trying not to be noticed. "Captain DeSoto, you didn't know about this plan until well after your ship had been sabotaged and the transwarp coil stolen, yes? Why did you agree to go after Captain Picard and Admiral Janeway to provide assistance?"

DeSoto smiled. "When you're a starship captain, Mr. Sisko, you get used to all kinds of things. The boring missions where you haul your behind back and forth between starbases, the combat missions where your ship gets pounded into wreckage, and the exploration missions. One thing that you learn is that when your fellow captains ask for your help, they wouldn't ask if they didn't actually need it. Captains help each other out, Mr. Sisko. Out there, all you have is each other." DeSoto laughed suddenly. "Besides, if there's one thing that Captain Picard and Admiral Janeway aren't, it's completely crazy. And this mission was just that… completely crazy." He sobered for a second. "We were lucky to come out of the Badlands in one piece," he admitted. "If not for Chakotay's completely off-the-wall Maquis tactics and Lieutenant Neeley here's fine combat instincts we wouldn't be here to have this conversation."

* * *

On the _Hood, _the conspirators watched Jake Sisko's news broadcast. Riker laughed at the screen as Neeley shied away from answering questions. "Shy, Lieutenant?" he asked, his arm wrapped securely around Deanna. Beside them sat Picard and Crusher, talking quietly. At the end of the table was Ro, watching the broadcast. Data and Geordi sat on the other side. On the table were a large number of long-discarded poker chips and cards. 

Neeley glared at him. "Not at all, Commander. I just don't like public speaking." She shrugged. "Jake's a good kid. I've known him for a pretty long time." She shook her head. "God, Starfleet Command is going to be so pissed that we managed to sneak Sisko aboard the _Hood _for this interview. It pretty much destroys any chance they had at punishing us the way we deserve." She glared at Geordi, Data, and Janeway. "Or the way you people deserve for making me look like an idiot the other day."

Janeway patted Neeley's shoulder. "Sorry about that, Lisa. It won't happen again."

Neeley nodded. "You're right. Next time I'm tying Ensign Sutter to the transwarp coil and he's never leaving its presence."

Data raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenant, that would have very detrimental effects on the heath of Ensign Sutter…"

Riker cut him off. "Sarcasm, Data. Sarcasm." Data nodded his understanding. Riker leaned back and grinned at Janeway and Chakotay who were sitting close together, Chakotay's hand resting surreptitiously on Janeway's leg. "Welcome back to the Alpha Quadrant," Riker said with a grin.

Ro kicked back, planting her feet up on the table. "It's been fun," she said.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

The room that was selected for the court-martial was the same room that the Maquis trial had been held in. It retained the large, bleacher like seating arrangement on either side with an opening in the back for entering and exiting – on the one side, _Voyager's _crew had filled up a good portion of the seats, Jake Sisko sitting anonymously amongst them. On the other, Admiral Nechayev and Admiral Paris sat, this time joined by other members of the Admiralty – Hayes, Ross, and Nakamura were among them.

On the podium, Rear Admiral Bennett had replaced Captain Louvois as the judge, although the collection of flags that provided a colorful background, bordering around the large Federation emblem, remained unchanged.

"Will the defendants please enter," Bennett said. On one side of the room a door opened and a line of people marched into the room. Captain Louvois was at the head, followed by Admiral Janeway, Captain Picard, Captain DeSoto, and the numerous others from the _Enterprise, Voyager, _and _Hood. _Janeway glanced up into the stands, her eyes briefly meeting Nechayev's, the two of them sharing mutual acknowledgement of these events.

Picard leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Did you tell Nechayev about the plan that you and Phillipa made about the Doctor?" he asked quietly. Janeway smiled slightly, shaking her head in a negative.

"I must have forgotten to mention it," she mouthed, the words barely audible. Picard glanced up at Nechayev, then turned back to Janeway with a small smile, nodding his acknowledgement.

"Due to the long list and varied charges that the defendants are charged with, we will read them in sequence. First the charges against Captain Phillipa Louvois of the San Francisco JAG office. They are as follows," Bennett looked down on Louvois – there was no lost love between the two former coworkers. "One charge of withholding information from Starfleet Intelligence in order to aid a conspiracy and one charge of accepting a bribe in order to change her judgment in a trial."

Phillipa smiled. "I bet it's the only time that a judge has been bribed by the defendant so that he would _get _a prison sentence," she said dryly. Bennett banged his gavel on the podium, glaring down at her.

"Captain Louvois, due to certain extenuating circumstances in regards to the conspiracy in question, that charge has been dropped. The second charge of accepting a bribe is upheld, however. It is the judgment of this court that you lose your standing in the JAG office and your posting in San Francisco."

Phillipa shrugged. "Pity, that," she muttered. Around them the audience buzzed with acknowledgement, the reporters and Admirals in attendance taking in both Bennett's judgment and Louvois' candid and cool response.

Janeway stepped forward. "Your honor, since the charges against Captain Louvois have been resolved, I would like to have her named as the legal counsel for those of us who still need to be judged."

Bennett raised an eyebrow, glancing from Janeway to Louvois. "Very well," he sighed. "Let us move on. The following charges are directed towards Captain Robert DeSoto and Lieutenant Lisa Neeley, representing the crew of the _USS Hood. _They are charged with one count of withholding information from Starfleet Intelligence in order to aid a conspiracy, one count of disobeying direct orders from a superior officer, and one count of reckless endangerment of a Federation starship." DeSoto and Neeley glanced at one another, wincing.

Bennett sighed. "In light of the information that has come to light, all charges against these individuals have been dropped," he continued. "Starfleet Command has determined that their actions were indeed justified under the circumstances and no action will be taken against Captain DeSoto or his crew." The audience in the chamber hummed as Bennett spoke, several members of _Voyager's _crew patting each other on the back.

"The following charges are directed at Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William T. Riker, Commander Deanna Troi, Commander Beverly Crusher, Commander Data, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, and _Voyager's _Emergency Medical Hologram. The charges are as follows…"

Phillipa raised her hand. "I object, your honor," she called out, interrupting his litany. On the right side of the bleachers, Admiral Nechayev's eyes widened and she turned to her fellow Admirals. Jake Sisko had ripped out a small padd and was writing furiously.

Bennett glared down at Louvois. "You object to the reading of the rights and charges, Captain?" he asked sarcastically.

Phillipa smiled sweetly up at him. "You are attempting to court-martial a hologram, Admiral. Why don't you bring the _Delta Flyer _or the _Hood _down here and attempt to court-martial them? They are, after all, tools with intricate computer programs. Or even the transwarp coil that was borrowed from the _Hood._ A computer program doesn't make it's own choices and cannot be held accountable for its actions unless you acknowledge that it is responsible for those choices and thus can be responsible for them and their consequences."

The _Voyager _crew was buzzing with noise, having quickly figured out where this was going. Bennett's face had gone white. "Admiral, before you can determine whether or not these people are to be held accountable for their actions, you must first determine whether or not the Doctor, as a holographic program, can be held accountable for _any _of his actions. Is he a sentient being with rights of his own? If he is not, as the current opinion of this court maintains, then I hold that this trial is in error. I demand an immediate hearing to determine the rights of the Doctor."

Bennett's mouth was hanging open. "You planned this, didn't you? You set me up," he said quietly, quite out of place in the trial setting. Phillipa just smiled at him. Next to her Janeway was wearing a crooked grin and the Doctor was hopping slightly from foot to foot in excitement. Bennett glanced over at the group of Admirals in the seats, but he was on his own for the moment.

Data stepped forward. "Your honor, may I speak?" he asked. He didn't wait for a response from the judge. "Thirteen years ago, I stood in front of a tribunal to determine whether or not I had the right to refuse to be disassembled and studied in the hopes that a man could duplicate me. There were three criteria that he posed in order to determine whether or not I was sentient and should thus be afforded the same rights of all sentient beings – self-awareness, intelligence, and consciousness. This individual, the Doctor, is now in the same position that I was. He, as I am, is intelligent and has the capability and the desire to grow and expand his knowledge. He is aware of who and what he is – unlike most holograms, he knows that is what he is and because of that knowledge he can strive to be more than he is. I believe he also possesses consciousness – the ability to think and make decisions, to progress, to make mistakes and to grow from those mistakes. He should be afforded the same rights that I was, that all sentient beings in our United Federation of Planets are afforded."

The audience hummed with noise, mostly agreement. Phillipa smirked up at Bennett. "As a man once said to me, Admiral – you wanted a chance to make law, well here it is. Make it a good one."

Bennett was motionless for several seconds, then he spoke slowly. "It seems I have no choice but to make a ruling on this," he said, picking his words carefully. He looked down at the Doctor. "Very well. Doctor, it is the ruling of this court that you are responsible for the decisions that are made by your program, and you alone."

Louvois' face broke out into a huge grin, her fist clenching in triumph subtly by her side. It was not a decisive ruling, far from it, but it was another step in the right direction. The Doctor just looked up at the judge, a goofy smile breaking out across his face.

"Now," Bennett continued, moving forwards as if nothing had occurred. "The charges are as follows: one count of bribing a Starfleet judge. One count of avoiding a prison sentence, namely by removing Lieutenant Commander Chakotay from Starfleet custody. One count of assault on a Starfleet Admiral." Down below, Riker and Janeway glanced at each other exchanging small, humorous smiles. "Two counts of theft of Federation property, namely the transwarp coil from the _USS Hood _and the shuttlecraft _Delta Flyer. _Ten counts of assault on Federation personnel, namely the security staff of the Ronara Prime Starfleet Complex. Three counts of resisting arrest. One count of illegally accessing the Federation database. One count of disobeying direct orders from a superior officer. And finally, one count of withholding information from Starfleet in order to mount a conspiracy."

Janeway surreptitiously turned her body, glancing up towards the stands. Nechayev was looking back and Janeway watched as Nechayev gave a small, subtle nod. She turned back as Bennett continued. "In light of the reasons behind the conspiracy and the actions which took place, and thus the service that they performed for the Federation, all charges against these officers have been dropped…"

The rest of what Bennett was saying was drowned out as the room exploded into applause and cheers, centered on the _Voyager _crew. Bennett banged his gavel repeatedly. "Order!" he yelled. Several seconds later, quiet returned.

"The final charges are directed against Lieutenant Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Ro Laren. They are also charged with the charges that their comrades are, but they also are charged with the following: defection to an enemy in a time of war and multiple actions that were taken against Federation and Cardassian interests as members of the Maquis following that defection." Bennett glanced around the room. "I stand down at the request of the Federation President to allow him to pass sentence."

The room was deathly silent as Bennett stepped down away from the podium, taking a second to shake the hand of the President as he stepped up to take the podium. The President ignored the gavel and the microphone, instead choosing to speak without their aid. "Citizens of the Federation and honored guests," he started. "We stand here today to witness the end of an era. Eight years ago the galaxy was a different place than it is today – we had seen the end of the Cardassian Wars and it looked like we might be on the verge of a new era of peace. But eight years ago, when we signed the treaty of 2370, we started down a path of internal strife and external violence. The Maquis were founded when we handed their colonies over to the Cardassians in the interest of peace – and now it seems that that treaty was indeed a mistake for all who were involved. From it came war – battling amongst ourselves and our long term allies and eventually the Dominion."

"Everyone paid the cost, but it was our own colonists – those who we gave to the Cardassians for protection in 2370 – who were the first to do so. The Maquis, supported by people inside of Starfleet, were not fighting because of any great hate for or betrayal of the Federation, but because they had to fight to protect that which they loved – their homes, their worlds, and their families."

The President looked down on Ro and Chakotay. "Most of them died, but by some twist of fate there were those who survived – and their survival allowed them to prevent the legacies of those troubled times from continuing to kill innocents and giving us all a chance to finally have that era of peace that seemed so close eight years ago but was so very far away. It is time to forgive and rebuild, not continue to battle amongst ourselves for reasons that no longer hold." He paused, letting the words settle.

"It is the judgment of this President that any and all Maquis who have laid down their weapons and asked to be brought home – anyone who wishes it – will be granted amnesty for their actions during the wars. This goes for Starfleet officers who supported them covertly and for those who did the fighting. It is time to end the strife and rebuild what we have lost."

He smiled down on the defendants. "Lieutenant Ro, Commander Chakotay, it is my pleasure to declare you free. You have fought for the betterment of us all – you have fought for that diviner day, a day in which the past does not hold our hatreds in the front of our minds but looks to the future, a future in which we will not need weapons and soldiers but we can truly live up to the motto of Starfleet – 'Ad Astra Per Aspera,' – through hardship to the stars. We have seen the hardships. Now we shall again see the stars."

The President stepped down, extending his hand to Admiral Janeway first, then Captains Louvois, Picard, and DeSoto. Then he turned back and walked slowly out of the chambers.

The audience flooded down from the bleachers, storming over the lower floor of the chambers. The accused officers swapped handshakes and hugs with one another and members of the Admiralty and _Voyager's _crew, the people buzzing around chattering excitedly.

In the middle of the crowd, Janeway found Chakotay. "Congratulations," she said up to him quietly, not loud enough to be heard over the crowd, but he knew what she was saying anyway. He grinned down at her, his celebration clear on his face and echoed across hers. He reached down, placing his arms around her back and pulled her to him, lowering his face to hers. Their lips met, standing there in the crowd of celebrating officers, sharing their triumph and celebration with one another.

There was a flash and Janeway glanced up, breaking the kiss. Jake Sisko held a holoimager up in his right hand, grinning, then he winked and disappeared into the crowd. Janeway glanced up at Chakotay, shrugged, and wrapped her arms around him as her crew slowly made their way through the people, Tom Paris at the head with a big grin on his face.

* * *

Captain Picard and Captain Louvois watched, smiling, as Janeway and Chakotay seemed to forget they were in a very public place. "Thank you, Phillipa," Picard said.

Louvois winked at him, reaching over to tap him twice on the chest. "Anytime, Jean-Luc. See you around." She wandered over towards Data and the Doctor who were standing somewhat back out of the crowd with Seven and Geordi, conversing about the impact that Admiral Bennett's impromptu ruling would have on artificial rights.

"Captain," a deep voice said from behind him. Picard turned and grinned up at the man who was speaking.

"Mr. Worf! I'm so glad you could make it." Picard smiled up at Worf. "I'm sorry that we couldn't involve you in our little scheme, but you were on Qo'noS and we couldn't get in contact with you – besides, I'm not sure Chancellor Martok would have been happy had we stolen away his favorite ambassador."

"Surely not," Worf acknowledged. He held up a box, plain brown without wrapping. "I brought the item you requested." Picard accepted it from Worf.

"Thank you, Worf. Does it have the proper number of pips and the combadge?" Picard asked.

"Yes, sir." Worf glanced up. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I wish to meet some of _Voyager's _crew. There have been many tales told about their battles against the Borg and even Klingons who they found in the Delta Quadrant. I wish to know how much of the stories are true." Worf vanished into the crowd, heading for Janeway and Chakotay who were surrounded by numbers of the _Voyager _crew.

Picard smiled after Worf, then turned away. His eyes scanned the room until he found the woman he was searching for – Ro Laren, hidden away from most of the people with her back against one of the bleachers, one leg up against the wall. He walked over to her and extended the box. "For you, Ro," he said simply.

Ro raised an eyebrow. "What is it, a medal from the President?" she asked dryly. She pulled off the cover and dropped it to the floor, then dropped the second half. Picard watched as she inhaled slightly, the grey-and-black uniform unraveling down towards the floor, the red shirt underneath the jacket exposed. The two pips on the collar reflected off the ceiling lights.

"Lieutenant Perim has accepted a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Captain DeSoto offered her the first officer's position on the _Hood _and she accepted. I have an opening at the helm," Picard said softly. He reached down to the uniform and plucked the combadge off of it, running his fingers over its rectangular gold lines and silver arrowhead. Then he turned and placed it lightly on Ro's chest.

"But sir… Starfleet will never let me back into the service, not after all that's happened and with my record…" Ro babbled.

Picard shrugged. "I'm not asking them. I'm asking you and if you want the uniform, it's yours." He smiled. "The helm just hasn't been the same since you left."

"Sir…" Ro looked up, astonishment in her eyes. "I'd be honored, sir," she finally got out. Picard smiled.

"Welcome to the crew of the _Enterprise, _Lieutenant Ro," he said. Then he turned and walked away slowly, headed back towards Riker, Deanna, and Beverly.

From behind him he heard Ro call something. "There's one condition on my acceptance, Captain," she said loud enough for him to hear.

Picard grinned. _Still the same old Ro._

* * *

"Admiral Janeway!" a voice called through the crowd, cutting through the noise produced by her crew. Aside her, Chakotay glanced around, looking for the voice, then pointed down towards the blond head of Alynna Nechayev who was cutting through the crowd in their direction.

Nechayev pushed Tom and Owen Paris apart, slipping in between them until she was in front of Janeway. "Admiral," she said. She extended her hand and Janeway grasped it, the two of them sharing a small congratulatory smile. "I was wondering, Admiral, what your plans were for the future," Nechayev asked.

Janeway shrugged. "Well, I fully intend to take a vacation – God knows I haven't had a real one in years." She grasped Chakotay's hand. "We're going to get away for a while," she said with a wink. "After that, I'll probably return to Earth and take Starfleet up on that teaching post at the Academy, at least for a while. Assuming, of course, that it's still available."

Nechayev nodded. "It is. We have an opening that the Admiralty thinks you'd be ideally suited for," she said. Janeway tilted her head in a question and Nechayev flashed a small smile. "Command Ethics."

Janeway laughed, her face flashing into a crooked grin. "Command Ethics?" she asked. "Are you sure I'm the best one for the job?"

"Positive, Admiral," Nechayev said. "Now, I have to go find the President. If you'll excuse me…" Nechayev slipped back the way she'd come.

Chakotay leaned down to Janeway, pulling her back towards him. "They're still offering me my old job at Advanced Tactics back," he murmured. "And I hear that Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna are going to be working in San Francisco at the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, working to revitalize the shuttlecraft and runabout designs. Apparently people were impressed by the _Delta Flyer._"

Aside them, two people cut through the crowd – Ro Laren pushing her way through as Jean-Luc Picard slipped through behind her. Ro marched up to Chakotay. "Commander," she said. "There's one last thing that I want to do and I want you to come with me. Are you interested in a short trip back to the Badlands?"

* * *

The shuttlecraft _Galileo _rose upwards towards the _Enterprise _from Earth. On board was the senior staff of the _Enterprise_, including her new helmsman. The ship grew slowly on the screen and Admiral Janeway withheld the urge to whistle as she and Chakotay admired the Federation's flagship.

Next to her, Ro grinned. "That's some ship," she said.

Riker laughed. "Impressive, isn't she? She'll have more than enough space for this mission of yours – assuming you can fly her through the Badlands."

Ro smiled. "Not a problem." She turned back to the other members of the ship as the _Enterprise's _computer took over the docking procedure, the ship slowly soaring towards the shuttlebay. "Thanks for coming," she said to Janeway. "You've earned the right to see this through."

Janeway nodded. "Anytime, Lieutenant. Besides, I've wanted to see the inside of the _Enterprise _for a while now."

* * *

The staff filed into the bridge of the _Enterprise, _the ship slowly coming to life as her systems awoke. At ops, Data's hands flew over his console, making the appropriate arrangements for departure. "McKinley Station has acknowledged my departure request. They are standing by to release docking clamps and turn our computers over to full onboard control on my mark."

Picard glanced at Janeway then he turned back. "Lieutenant Ro, release docking clamps and take us out, one quarter impulse."

"Aye, sir," Ro said, the _Enterprise's _engines stirring to life and the ship descended away from McKinley Station. "One quarter impulse. Course is set for the Badlands at warp five, ready to engage on your order."

At tactical, the _Enterprise's _new tactical officer glanced down at the captain's chair. "Sir, Captain DeSoto is hailing," Lieutenant Commander Lisa Neeley said. "He sends his complements on a job well done and admonishments for stealing me."

Riker laughed. "You think he'd be used to his best officers transferring to the _Enterprise _by now. Besides, he got Commander Perim and she's a damn fine officer." He stood and walked down to the helm, resting a hand on the back of the conn chair. "Lieutenant, bring us up alongside the _Hood. _Flash our starboard running lights in a salute."

The _Enterprise _soared up until her nacelles were even with the _Hood's, _the two ships flying side by side. The _Enterprise _was sleeker, meaner, with clean unblemished lines that screamed hawk-like lethality. The _Hood _had softer, smoother contours, a smooth circular saucer, and a hull that was still bruised and burned from her battle in the Badlands. Once they were running side-by-side, the _Enterprise _flashed her lights in a classic ship-to-ship salute and the _Hood _returned the favor, two of Starfleet's finest acknowledging one another.

Then the _Enterprise _broke away, veering off towards the outer edge of the solar system. In her viewer, the image of the _Hood _vanished, replaced by the gleaming stars. "See you out there, Robert," Picard murmured. He turned to Janeway. "Admiral, would you like to do the honors?" he asked.

Janeway smiled. She raised her right hand in an imitation of the move that Picard was famous for. "Lieutenant Ro… engage."


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a small world, at what seemed like the edge of the universe. Deep within the Badlands, it had been the last place the Maquis had run to – its sky forever scorched by the storms that raged above and below the forgotten planet. It had been sanctuary for the refugees of the Maquis, the last survivors of a grand lost cause.

The shuttlecraft set down on the outskirts, the _Galileo _resting on the deep lines in the dirt that were still left from where the _Gale _had rested for five years. Ro and Chakotay were the first to emerge, but Chakotay reached back to help Janeway jump out, followed by Picard.

The buildings were an ugly brown and yellow, a mismatch and conglomeration of whatever was available. There weren't many survivors – colonists from Volan III, mostly children, and the Maquis who had evacuated them with the Jem'Hadar on their heels – but there were some.

From some of the houses, people popped out or looked through the glassless windows as they strode through the village. The people stared, taking in the Starfleet uniforms that once they had considered the enemy, but they did not take up arms. There had been enough fighting.

Ro popped her head inside the largest building, then snuck inside around a corner, moving to rest on a chair. She raised her feet and rested them on Amaros' table, lounging.

Amaros came into view, his eyes running over Ro, taking in her uniform and the rank and combadge that adorned it. "You came back. I thought you would be dead."

"I couldn't leave you here," Ro said quietly. "There's no life for you here, Amaros."

"Is there one for us somewhere else?" Amaros asked, sitting softly in the chair across from her.

"It's forgiven," Ro said. "All is forgiven." She pulled her feet off the table, sitting up. "I have a friend, Keeve Falor, on Valo II. There are three M-class planets there, Amaros, and it's no longer the world it was when I grew up. You won't have to live in a refugee camp anymore, or worry about food and water, or have to look up into the sky and see the light from the storms, even in the darkest hours of night."

Amaros smiled. "Another chance?"

Ro nodded. "A better place."

* * *

Ro walked out of the building, her uniform jacket tucked snugly around her shoulders and rejoined her companions. Captain Picard nodded at her, resting a hand on her shoulder as Janeway and Chakotay looked on. 

From beside her Ro felt movement. She looked down as someone tugged on her uniform leg, one of the children who had grown up on this world and had known nothing else. "Laren?" the little boy asked. "Why do we have to go?"

Ro knelt down, reaching up behind her. Janeway lifted up one of the blankets they had replicated and placed it in Ro's hand, and she wrapped it around the shoulders of the boy. "When I was your age," Ro whispered. "I lived in a place much like this. It was a place of despair and hopelessness, where the people who lived there had forgotten what it meant to dream and to hope for something more." Ro tucked the blanket around his chest, tying two ends together. "But on that world, the children, like you and like me, could look up to the stars and see infinite possibilities. They could dream for a day when they wouldn't have to cry or to fight, when they wouldn't have to hide and fear."

Beside Ro, Picard knelt down. Janeway leaned into Chakotay, his arms wrapping lightly around her waist. Ro smiled as the boy continued to look up at her, clueless. "We're going to take you to a place where you can look up at night and see more than the storms. Where you too can see the stars and dream of that better day – a day when you can take control of your own fate." Ro stood, patting the boy on the head. "And when you find it, because you will, grab onto it with both hands." She turned and looked up to the sky, her eyes seeking out that little speck of light that was the _Enterprise. _"Grab on to it, little one. Grab on to it and never let it go."


End file.
